Artist News

Japanese popstar in critical condition after fan knife attack

By | Published on Monday 23 May 2016

Mayu Tomita

Japanese popstar Mayu Tomita is in a critical condition after being attacked outside a concert venue where she was due to appear in Tokyo this weekend.

Tomita suffered nearly two dozen wounds to her neck and chest after a man claiming to be a fan of the singer attacked her with a knife. It is thought Tomita had made a complaint to police about 27 year old Tomohiro Iwazaki last month after he started posting obsessive comments about her on social media.

According to local media reports, after being arrested Iwazaki said that he confronted Tomita about a present he had sent her but which had been returned, and he became violent because he wasn’t happy with her response. He is quoted as telling police: “I ambushed her at the station and asked her [about the gift]. I lost my temper and stabbed her many times because she didn’t clearly answer”.

The attack has drawn parallels to the incident in 2014 when two members of J-pop group AKB48 were attacked by a man brandishing a saw at a meet-and-greet for fans.



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