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
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.
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.
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.
Knives found near Japanese Prince Hisahito’s desk at Tokyo school
Surveillance video from the school showed a man in a blue worker’s uniform, wearing a helmet and a pair of gloves, entering the school soon before the knives were found. Local media said he had posed as a plumber.
Hisahito and his classmates were reportedly out at a physical education class when the man entered the school. The intruder was able to identify where the prince sits because children have their names on their desks.
Women are not allowed to inherit the throne, making Hisahito the imperial family’s only young heir.
Before Hisahito was born, the government had considered changing the law to allow women to inherit the throne, but it shelved the plan after his birth. It says it will reopen the debate later this year.
In the wake of the incident, the Education Ministry has instructed schools across the country to tighten security, Kyodo News reported, including by adding multiple checkpoints at school gates and other entrances to look for suspicious individuals.
