Overview
- Police in Kawachinagano confronted a blood-stained man holding a kitchen knife after an emergency call on Tuesday evening.
- A 32-year-old sergeant first fired a warning shot and then fired a second round that struck the man's left chest when he continued to approach.
- The suspect was arrested at the scene on suspicion of obstructing official duties and violating the Swords and Firearms Control Law, taken to hospital, and confirmed dead.
- Osaka Prefectural Police said they judged the shooting met the legal criteria for using a service pistol but opened an internal inquiry to confirm the man's identity and the sequence of events.
- Fatal police shootings are uncommon in Japan, and coverage links this case to a July shooting in Kumamoto that prompted similar scrutiny of officers' use of firearms.