The Metropolitan Police Department's Ikebukuro Police Station is seen in Tokyo's Toshima Ward. (Mainichi/Takuya Suzuki)

       TOKYO -- An explosion occurred at an apparently empty restaurant in Tokyo's Toshima Ward on the night of Oct. 6, injuring three passersby.

       The three male victims, aged in their 30s and 40s, were taken to hospital after the explosion, which occurred at around 10:55 p.m. They were apparently conscious, and their injuries were not life-threatening.

       According to the Metropolitan Police Department's Ikebukuro Police Station and other sources, an officer at a nearby police box heard the explosion and rushed to the scene. The restaurant was not open at the time, and there was apparently no one inside. Police suspect a gas canister for portable gas stoves exploded. Some 8 square meters of an interior wall was burned as a result of the explosion.

       The eatery is located in the downtown area near JR Ikebukuro Station's west exit.

       (Japanese original by Buntaro Saito, Tokyo City News Department)

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