Schoolboy in Tokyo stabbed in chest, suspect arrested

Japanese police say a schoolboy was stabbed in the chest as he stepped out of his house to go to school in a residential area of downtown Tokyo

Japanese police said a schoolboy was stabbed in the chest as he stepped out of his house to go to school Wednesday in a residential area of downtown Tokyo. A suspect was arrested at the scene.

The 13-year-old junior high school student was rushed to a hospital, but his injuries were not life-threatening, the Tokyo metropolitan police said.

Police said they arrested a 61-year-old man for allegedly assaulting the student. Police refused to say if the suspect, who they said was unemployed, admitted to the attack or gave a motive.

Police said the boy, whose name is withheld because he is a minor, was stabbed by a kitchen knife. The suspect had blood on his hands and clothes when he was arrested, media reports said.

The attack occurred in a residential neighborhood, a few minutes' walk away from a train station.

Japan has strict gun controls and shootings are rare but there have been high-profile cases of random knife attacks on subways and arson in recent years.