IN BRIEF
- More than 25 people were taken to the hospital after the alleged spraying incident.
- Police are still investigating the cause, a fire department officer at the scene said.
More than 20 people have developed sore throats near a luxury department store in Tokyo's ritzy Ginza shopping area after a person allegedly sprayed an unknown substance.
The Tokyo Fire Department said 26 people complained of suddenly developing throat pain and felt unwell near the Ginza Six shopping complex, and all but one of them were taken to a hospital.
Tokyo police spokesperson Yusuke Koide told Agence France-Presse that a man sprayed a substance at an ATM on the ground floor of the building.
The road in front of the mall — located in the touristy and upmarket shopping district of Ginza — was blocked off following the incident, and fire trucks lined the street.
However, shoppers continued to come and go from the building using side entrances.
Dozens of fire engines and ambulances were parked outside the complex, and the surrounding roads were temporarily closed.
Television footage showed firefighters and officials in hazmat suits assisting people, with some being brought out of the building.
Public broadcaster NHK said the injuries appeared to be light.
It said the spray was believed to have contained the irritant capsaicin, the active component of chilli peppers, according to unidentified investigative sources.
One 70-year-old woman who was at the mall told the broadcaster that her throat started "stinging and hurting" as she approached the ATM.
"By the time I arrived, the commotion had already started, and I thought there might have been a small fire or something.
"Once I went into the ATM corner, my throat felt scratchy, almost numb," she said.
Police are investigating the cause, a fire department officer at the scene said.
Violent crime is relatively rare in Japan, which has a low murder rate and some of the world's toughest gun laws.
However, there are occasional stabbing attacks and even shootings, including the assassination of former prime minister Shinzo Abe in 2022.
Fourteen people were injured in a stabbing attack in a factory in central Japan in December last year, during which an unspecified liquid was also sprayed.
Japan remains shaken by the memory of a major subway attack in 1995 when members of the Aum Shinrikyo cult released sarin gas on trains, killing 14 people and making more than 5,800 ill.
Five members of the Aum cult dropped bags of Nazi-developed sarin nerve agent inside morning commuter trains on 20 March 1995, piercing the pouches with sharpened umbrella tips before fleeing.
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