Japanese Girl Group Attacked by Fan Armed with a Saw

May 26, 2014 Alan Cross 0 Comments 0 min read

I spend a couple of hours in Narita Airport long enough yesterday to hear the news about how two members of a Japanese pop group called AKB48 were hurt when a fan went after them with a saw.

The two women, Rina Kawaei, 19, and Anna Iriyama, 18, were holding some kind of meet-and-green in the city of Takizawa when this freak lunged toward them. The women ended up with slashes on the hands and heads.

A 24 year-old man named Satoru Umeta was arrested. The girls required surgery but should already be out of the hospital.

The full story is available at the BBC. And as an aside, AKB48 holds the records for the group with the largest number of members. The currently lineup stands at around 140. No, that’s not a typ0.

Alan Cross

is an internationally known broadcaster, interviewer, writer, consultant, blogger and speaker. In his 40+ years in the music business, Alan has interviewed the biggest names in rock, from David Bowie and U2 to Pearl Jam and the Foo Fighters. He’s also known as a musicologist and documentarian through programs like The Ongoing History of New Music.

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