A 22-year-old woman was stabbed to death while walking home in Tokyo's Kichijoji area early Thursday morning, police said, adding that a 17-year-old foreign male has been taken into custody.

According to police, the attack occurred in Musashino, about 500 meters from JR Kichijoji Station just before 2 a.m. Fuji TV reported that the woman, identified as Arisa Yamada, had just left a convenience store and was on her way home from work when she was attacked by two men. A passerby alerted police. Yamada was taken to hospital, but died due to loss of blood from two stab wounds to the back. Her left wrist was also cut, police said.

Police said that her handbag was found empty about 200 meters away.

Meanwhile, police said that the foreign suspect, who is Romanian, was stopped by a patrol car near Kichijoji Station at about 5 a.m. Police said he ran when officers approached him, Fuji reported. Later, he was quoted as saying that his companion stabbed Yamada and also stole her purse.

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