Posted on 05/26/2014 8:11:51 AM PDT by csvset
Two members of popular Japanese pop group AKB48 were injured after a fan attacked them with a saw.
Rina Kawaei, 19, and Anna Iriyama, 18, were meeting with fans in the northern city of Takizawa on Sunday when a man lunged forward and slashed them.
They sustained cuts on their hands and heads, reported Kyodo. A male staff member was also cut on his hand.
The group holds the Guinness record for being the world's largest pop group.
The police have arrested the 24-year-old man, identified as Satoru Umeta.
AKB48's manager was reported as saying the two girls' surgery was successful and they would be able to leave the hospital by Monday.
A Tokyo concert scheduled for Monday night and other fan events have been cancelled.
News of the attack was covered widely in national media. AKB48, which was founded in 2005, is hugely popular in Japan and other Asian countries.
The Japan Times reports that the attacker, an unemployed man from Towada, Aomori Prefecture, has been named as 24-year-old Satoru Umeta, who remains in police custody.
Thank God they have gun control in Japan, No one is ever killed or injured there!
Guy probably couldn’t get a date so he employed the Elliot Rogers method of charm.
Adorable. No accounting for nut jobs. I suggest Japan immediately ban saws, knives and all sharp objects.
These girls hire out for birthday parties for old men and a bunch of et cetera's
They're not whores ... just pretty girls making money until they age too much
Some kind of Japan ((but some words sound Korean)) Got talent a year ago
[ Thank God they have gun control in Japan, No one is ever killed or injured there! ]
The Monopoly of gun violence is held by the Yakuza over there...
More than a third our population, double the suicide rate, no guns.
So, ex-basketball players? Or what?
These girls are ninjas by nite...no harm done...I think they need PSD from this point on...wonder where the application form is....looking....
Was this a chain saw, a cross cut saw, or what. Seems an odd weapon of choice. Of course, Japan took farm implements and made weapons out of them.
48 original members, up to 140 now... with spinoff groups (of 48 members each) in several Japanese other cities now. The first non-Japanese group is JKT48, in Jakarta. The second will be in Shanghai (SNH48). It’s the “idols you can meet” concept... and they’re churning out singles and records that are hitting the charts with great frequency. The AKB48 is made about $220 million in sales last year.
(is made = made)
The Require Bodyguards, STAT!
I Volunteer.
As for Guns, is there any wonder why Gun Tourism is SO big in Guam and Hawaii?
Because Asians Aren't allowed Guns.
http://www.teaparty.org/machine-gun-tourism-thrives-vegas-33410/
http://www.forbes.com/sites/susannahbreslin/2013/09/29/guns-hawaii/
Was gonna ping you. Saw you were already here. all is right with the world ;)
Basically, a larger Japanese implementation of “Menudo”. . .
with a female version of it
I heartily volunteer for guard duty.
Not guilty.
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