A 19-year-old officer in city of Hikone is accused of killing Akira Imoto in his office

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

A Japanese police officer has been arrested for allegedly shooting a colleague dead, a rare claim in a country where weapons are strictly regulated.

The 19-year-old suspect, who has not been named, reportedly told authorities he shot Akira Imoto after being verbally bullied by him.

Japan has strict gun control regulations and very little gun crime. In 2015, just eight gun crimes were reported nationwide.

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Imoto, 41, was found dead inside a police office in the city of Hikone, in Japan’s Shiga prefecture, on Wednesday evening, a police spokesman said.

Authorities realised the dead man’s colleague was missing and began searching for him. “At about 1.35am, police found the 19-year-old and arrested him on suspicion of murder,” the spokesman said.

A police car that had run off the road was found near the scene of the crime, the spokesman added.

The suspect told investigators he shot Imoto because he had been bullied by his colleague, public broadcaster NHK reported, citing unnamed police sources.

“That a police officer committed a murder using a gun that we provided to him is extremely regrettable, and we deeply apologise to the public,” a senior local police officer said with a deep bow on Thursday morning in front of TV cameras.



