Japanese actor dies after being stabbed in stomach with ‘samurai sword’ during rehearsal in Tokyo

A Japanese actor has died after being stabbed in the stomach during a rehearsal in Tokyo with what police believe was either a real or mock samurai sword.

Detectives are investigating whether the death of 33-year-old theatre group actor Daigo Kashino was criminal or accidental.

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He was rehearsing with several other actors at a downtown Tokyo studio on Monday when he was injured.

Paramedics took him to hospital but he died hours later, police said.

Japanese public broadcaster NHK reported that Kashino’s colleagues turned around to see him hunched over after hearing him groan in pain.

Additional reporting by the Associated Press