Man arrested after ramming barricade near Israel embassy in Tokyo

[November 16, 2023]  By Francis Tang
 
TOKYO (Reuters) -A 53-year-old man was arrested in Tokyo on Thursday after crashing a car into a barricade near the entrance of the Israeli embassy and injuring a police officer, authorities said.  

A view of the scene after a car crashed into a barricade near the Israeli embassy in Tokyo, Japan, November 16, 2023. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon

Police said the suspect was a member of a right-wing organization, without elaborating, and that a policeman in his 20s sustained non-life threatening injuries.

Israel's ambassador to Japan Gilad Cohen said in a social media post he was "shocked" by the events and thanked police for ensuring their security.

The incident happened at an area near the embassy which has been the site of a handful of pro-Palestinian demonstrations in recent weeks against Israel's bombardment of the Gaza Strip.

Police had stepped up security in the area, including erecting the temporary barricades, since the Israel-Hamas war began on Oct. 7, residents said.

A month ago, a staffer at the Israeli embassy in Beijing was assaulted on the street and hospitalised.

(Reporting by Francis Tang, Satoshi Sugiyama and Mariko Katsumura; Editing by John Geddie, Christopher Cushing and Raju Gopalakrishnan)

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