Bomber, 72, blows himself up in Japan

A JAPANESE pensioner burned down his house before blowing himself up and injuring three others in what police believe was suicide.

Toshikatsu Kurihara, a former military officer, first set his house on fire and blew up his car in the city of Utsunomiya, near Tokyo. Then, in the park, the 72-year-old set off a second bomb, which killed him. Two seriously injured men and a 14-year-old boy with minor leg injuries were taken to hospital.

Witnesses spoke of hearing a series of explosions near the park and smelling gunpowder. Some saw Kurihara’s car explode and the flames also burned down two other vehicles.

Shortly after, police found the charred remains of a male body inside the park. They were able to identify it as Kurihara’s by a wallet found in his clothing. They also found a note in his sock. It said that he was suffering from family troubles and went on: “I will atone by taking my own life.”

According to NHK, Japan’s public broadcaster, the pensioner was a former officer in the Self-Defence Force, which operates in lieu of a national army.

Explosions of this kind are rare in Japan, although small pipe bomb blasts linked to extreme Leftists have occasionally occurred near US military bases.

In November last year, a homemade pipe bomb exploded at Tokyo’s controversial Yasukuni shrine, but no one was hurt. A South Korean man was later arrested and sentenced to four years in prison for bombing the shrine, which some activists see as a symbol of Japan’s militaristic past.

Suicide rates have declined in Japan in recent years, but remain among the highest in the world, with around 30,000 people a year taking their lives. Experts have blamed the stress of surviving on small pensions for pushing some retired people to end their lives.