ID :
20077
Thu, 09/18/2008 - 21:58
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/20077
The shortlink copeid
Ground force reservist allegedly fires handmade shots at palace+
TOKYO, Sept. 18 Kyodo - A reservist with the Ground Self-Defense Force was arrested Thursday for
allegedly firing several handmade shots at the Imperial Palace in central Tokyo
in the early morning hours, police said.
No casualties or damage have been reported at the main residence of the emperor
and empress, the police said, quoting Toshiyuki Ogawa, 34, as saying he wanted
to ''cause a stir'' but had no intention to hurt anyone.
Vice Defense Minister Kohei Masuda billed the alleged act as ''unacceptable''
at a press conference. Ogawa was a full GSDF member from 1993 to 1995 and
rejoined the GSDF in 2001 as a reservist.
Ogawa has served as a ready reserve member since 2003, a rank higher than
normal reserve personnel who may be mobilized for a war.
GSDF chief Gen. Ryoichi Oriki told a separate press conference that Ogawa
belonged to an airborne unit when he was a full GSDF member.
But there is no record in the GSDF suggesting major problems with Ogawa's
behavior while on duty, said Oriki, who heads the Defense Ministry's Ground
Staff Office.
According to the police, Ogawa allegedly shot fire extinguishers filled with
explosives at the palace at around 2:40 a.m. Thursday from a street that faces
the Sakurada moat in Chiyoda Ward.
The police said they later found three fire extinguishers in the moat and on
the bank and two metal cylinders filled with gunpowder with timed detonators in
the moat.
They also found a truck loaded with sandbags that are suspected of having been
used as a launch pad, the police said.
Ogawa was arrested on suspicion of violating the explosives control ordinance.
Ogawa, a resident of Sagamihara, Kanagawa Prefecture, is also running in an
election on Sunday as an assembly member for the nearby city of Zama.
The explosives control ordinance sets punishment of death, life imprisonment or
imprisonment for more than seven years for those who use explosives with the
intention of disturbing public order, inflicting injury or damaging property.
==Kyodo
allegedly firing several handmade shots at the Imperial Palace in central Tokyo
in the early morning hours, police said.
No casualties or damage have been reported at the main residence of the emperor
and empress, the police said, quoting Toshiyuki Ogawa, 34, as saying he wanted
to ''cause a stir'' but had no intention to hurt anyone.
Vice Defense Minister Kohei Masuda billed the alleged act as ''unacceptable''
at a press conference. Ogawa was a full GSDF member from 1993 to 1995 and
rejoined the GSDF in 2001 as a reservist.
Ogawa has served as a ready reserve member since 2003, a rank higher than
normal reserve personnel who may be mobilized for a war.
GSDF chief Gen. Ryoichi Oriki told a separate press conference that Ogawa
belonged to an airborne unit when he was a full GSDF member.
But there is no record in the GSDF suggesting major problems with Ogawa's
behavior while on duty, said Oriki, who heads the Defense Ministry's Ground
Staff Office.
According to the police, Ogawa allegedly shot fire extinguishers filled with
explosives at the palace at around 2:40 a.m. Thursday from a street that faces
the Sakurada moat in Chiyoda Ward.
The police said they later found three fire extinguishers in the moat and on
the bank and two metal cylinders filled with gunpowder with timed detonators in
the moat.
They also found a truck loaded with sandbags that are suspected of having been
used as a launch pad, the police said.
Ogawa was arrested on suspicion of violating the explosives control ordinance.
Ogawa, a resident of Sagamihara, Kanagawa Prefecture, is also running in an
election on Sunday as an assembly member for the nearby city of Zama.
The explosives control ordinance sets punishment of death, life imprisonment or
imprisonment for more than seven years for those who use explosives with the
intention of disturbing public order, inflicting injury or damaging property.
==Kyodo
