School intruder wanted to stab young Japanese prince, say police

Kaoru Hasegawa, 56, was arrested for trespassing last month after two knives were found on the desk of Prince Hisahito

The knives, blades painted pink, were bound to a two-foot-long bar that straddled the school desk of the prince and a neighbouring desk

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Prince Hisahito, nephew of Naruhito, Japan’s new emperor. Photo: AFP

Published: 9:26pm, 8 May 2019Updated: 9:26pm, 8 May 2019

A man arrested for leaving two knives on the school desk of a young Japanese prince has admitted to police that he intended to stab the 12-year-old because he disagrees with the imperial system, Japanese media reported.

Kaoru Hasegawa, 56, was arrested for trespassing last month after two knives were found on the desk of Prince Hisahito, who one day stands to inherit the Chrysanthemum Throne. The incident occurred only days before the prince’s uncle Naruhito became Japan’s new emperor.

Kaoru Hasegawa, right, is driven to a police station after being arrested. Photo: Kyodo

The knives, blades painted pink, were bound to a two-foot-long bar that straddled the school desk of the prince and a neighbouring desk, local news media reported, heightening security fears and underlining the vulnerability of a royal family desperately short of male heirs.

Police say Hasegawa confessed to leaving the knives because he “was not satisfied with the imperial system and the succession,” arguing that under that system “Japan won’t get better,” local media reported.

Hasegawa confessed that he intended to stab Hisahito, news outlets said, but ended up just leaving the knives to let the prince know he had been there. Why the knives were painted pink and bound to a bar was not explained.

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