A minivan slammed into pedestrians in the early hours of 1 January on a street where people had gathered for New Year’s festivities in downtown Tokyo, injuring eight people, police said.

The 21-year-old suspect, Kazuhiro Kusakabe, was arrested and questioned, Tokyo Metropolitan police. He is suspected of intentionally trying to kill people by driving the vehicle into them in the street. NHK reported that Kusakabe told police he was acting in “retribution for the death penalty”.



NHK TV footage showed a small van with the entire front end smashed and officers and ambulance workers rushing to the scene.

A ninth person was injured after Kusakabe got out of the car and punched him, police said. His condition was not immediately known.

A large tank filled with kerosene was found in the car, police said. The suspect appeared to have planned to set his car on fire, Mainichi newspaper and other Japanese media reported. Police declined to comment on the reports, saying such possible motives were still under investigation.

The crash occurred early Tuesday on Takeshita-dōri, a road well known to tourists and pop culture and fashion fans that runs right by Meiji Shrine in Harajuku, Shibuya ward.

Every New Year’s Eve, the train line that includes Harajuku station runs all night, for people welcoming the new year with a shrine visit.

Crime is relatively low in Japan, which has strict gun-control laws. In 2008, a man drove his car into a crowd in the popular Akihabara electronic-shopping district, got off and went on a stabbing rampage with a knife. Seven people were killed.