A toxic substance believed to be tear gas was released in broad daylight at a well-known commercial facility in the heart of Ginza, Tokyo's most upscale shopping district. In the attack targeting an unspecified number of people, about 20 people at the scene complained of severe respiratory pain and were taken by ambulance. The unidentified assailant fled immediately after the crime, taking advantage of the crowd.
According to a compilation of reports by major Japanese outlets including TV Asahi and Fuji News Network on the 25th (local time), around noon that day a man indiscriminately sprayed a liquid appearing to be tear spray in the lobby of Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation inside the large mixed-use commercial complex Ginza Six, located in Ginza 6-chome, Chuo Ward, Tokyo. Emergency calls poured in from citizens at the scene reporting a pungent smell and stinging eyes and throat.
Amid the sudden rampage, 25 people—including male and female customers and employees conducting business in the bank lobby—collapsed, complaining of severe headaches, sore throats, and coughing. The Tokyo Fire Department immediately dispatched 37 units, including pump trucks and ambulances, to the scene to administer first aid. All the victims were confirmed to be conscious, but 14 to 19 people in somewhat serious condition were rushed to nearby general hospitals for treatment. A close analysis of security cameras identified the assailant as a man whose face was covered with a white mask and who wore a black long-sleeved top and white long pants.
To prevent additional harm, Tokyo police tightened access controls around the site and launched a full-scale investigation. The suspect fled quickly toward nearby Shimbashi immediately after the crime. While conducting a precise analysis to determine the exact composition of the chemical substance the assailant released, the Metropolitan Police Department's investigative team is securing security camera footage inside and outside the commercial facility on all fronts to trace the escape route. Given that a major bank branch was directly targeted in the most upscale district at midday with heavy foot traffic, authorities are giving significant weight to the possibility that this went beyond a mere expression of discontent and could have been preparatory conduct for a bank robbery or an indiscriminate terror attack.
In particular, in recent days across Tokyo and the greater metropolitan area, serious crimes abusing self-defense sprays have continued one after another, markedly heightening public security anxiety. On the same day in Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo, a group known as Tokuryu, an anonymous fluid-type criminal organization, was arrested in the act after attempting a heinous robbery by spraying bear repellent. Investigators are mobilizing all investigative resources, swiftly working to identify the fleeing suspect while also keeping open the broad possibility that the Ginza bank attack is closely linked to a new type of cell-structured crime.