Japan’s Joker attacker targeted busy Tokyo train on Halloween to ‘kill a lot of people’

Kyota Hattori, 24, was referred to prosecutors on Tuesday after Sunday’s attack, in which 17 people were injured, with one man still critical

Police said Hattori, who was inspired by the Batman character, planned the attack over months, buying a knife and lighter fluid to start a fire on the train

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Kyota Hattori, suspect in a Halloween stabbing and fire attack on a train that left 17 people injured, is escorted to the prosecutor's office from the Chofu police station in Tokyo on November 2. Photo: AFP

Published: 4:00pm, 2 Nov 2021Updated: 8:57pm, 2 Nov 2021

A Japanese man who was arrested after injuring 17 people in a knife and arson attack on a train on the night of Halloween told police he targeted Tokyo in hopes of killing as many people as possible, investigative sources said on Tuesday.

“I thought I could kill a lot of people in Tokyo,” Kyota Hattori, 24, was quoted as saying by investigators.

Videos and photos of the incident, which took place on a Keio Line train on Sunday night, were posted on social media by eyewitnesses and showed the suspect at the scene wearing a bright green shirt, dark tie and purple suit reminiscent of Batman villain the Joker.

Tokyo police referred Hattori to prosecutors on Tuesday on suspicion of attempted murder.

Of the 17 injured people, a 72-year-old man remains in critical condition after allegedly being stabbed in the chest by Hattori while the limited express train was still in motion.