Takenotsuka Police Station is pictured in Tokyo's Adachi Ward. (Mainichi/Maki Kihara)

       TOKYO -- A man suspected of threatening a "bloodbath" at a COVID-19 vaccination venue in a fax sent to a police station in Tokyo's Adachi Ward has been arrested, law enforcers said.

       Shuji Kamibayashi, 38, a resident of the Tokyo ward, was arrested on suspicion of fraudulent obstruction of business. He has reportedly admitted to the allegations.

       "I was doing a job in the transportation industry, but I became unable to work because of the coronavirus, and I did it to vent my frustrations," he was quoted as telling investigators.

       Kamibayashi is specifically accused of faxing a page titled "Death Threat" to Takenotsuka Police Station in Adachi Ward from a convenience store in the Saitama Prefecture city of Soka north of Tokyo at about 6 p.m. on Sept. 19. Included was a threat reading, "At around 9 a.m. tomorrow, there's going to be a bloodbath at a vaccination venue in a certain city hall."

       Police stepped up security at 24 vaccination venues under their jurisdiction, remaining on guard from the evening of Sept. 19 until around 9 a.m. the following day, but didn't notice anything unusual. Kamibayashi surfaced as a suspect when police inspected security camera footage from the convenience store.

       Police said the fax was sent in the name of a fictitious organized crime group member. Investigators said faxes in the name of the same member titled "Proclamation of War" and "Targeting Lives" were sent to the same police station on Sept. 17 and 18. They are investigating whether there was a connection with the latest fax.

       (Japanese original by Maki Kihara, Tokyo City News Department)

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