Japan: Hostage taking, demand Prime Minister resign

Japanese police on November 23 arrested the perpetrator of a hostage-taking at a bank in Aichi province, rescuing four hostages after more than 12 hours of being held hostage.

Police prepare to break in to rescue hostages

The hostage situation occurred at the Zoshi branch of the Toyokawa Shinkin Bank in Toyokawa City. The perpetrator was identified as Koji Nagakubo, 32, who stormed the bank building on the afternoon of November 22, using a knife to control four bank employees and one female customer. The kidnapper took a hostage's phone to call the police and demand food, cigarettes and a loudspeaker. He released the first hostage, Yoshie Kinoshita, 48, on the night of November 22 to get food. In the early morning of November 23, the police broke a window on the second floor before going down to the first floor, where the kidnapper was pointing a knife at the hostages. The kidnapper also held another knife and tied the hands of at least one victim. The police subdued the subject and rescued four hostages, including the deputy director of the bank branch. Among the hostages, 19-year-old Moe Takeyama suffered some minor injuries to her arm, while the rest were unharmed.

According to Aichi police, Koji Nagakubo said he kidnapped the hostages to demand the resignation of Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda's government.

Last week, Prime Minister Noda dissolved the House of Representatives to prepare for an election scheduled for December 16 that is likely to mark the return of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Liberal Democratic Party.

According to VPchinhphu-M