This Jan. 13, 2014 file photo shows the NHK Broadcasting Center, in Tokyo's Shibuya Ward. (Mainichi)

TOKYO -- A South Korean man, who had been arrested for allegedly staying in Japan illegally after he hinted that he slashed a man in Tokyo, was served a new arrest warrant on May 30 on suspicion of attempted murder over the attack, police said.

Lee Jae-hyon, 46, whose address and occupation remain unknown, stands accused of attempting to kill a 48-year-old employee of an affiliate of public broadcaster NHK.

"I sent a message to Japanese news media organizations that are irresponsibly reporting news," he was quoted as telling investigators before being detained. Lee has refused to say whether he was involved in the incident since he was arrested although he said he had thrown away the weapon, according to investigators.

Lee stabbed the victim in the neck with a knife in front of the NHK Broadcasting Center in Shibuya Ward, Tokyo, at around 9:30 p.m. on May 18, leaving him with serious injuries that were expected to take three months to heal, the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) alleges.

Lee visited the MPD's Shibuya Police Station the day after the incident and hinted that he was involved in the case. The suspect entered Japan via Fukuoka Prefecture in December last year. However as his three-month residential status had expired, police initially arrested him on suspicion of violating the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act.

(Japanese original by Shota Harumashi, Yoshitaka Yamamoto and Hironori Tsuchie, City News Department)