Five killed in stabbing spree in Japan

A man suspected of stabbing five people to death at a family home in rural Japan was being quizzed by police Monday, with reports saying he is a hikikomori,  or social misfit, who lived nearby.

Media descended on the usually quiet island of Awajishima, with helicopters hovering over the farmstead where the five were slain some time before 7 a.m. Sunday. Police found the bloodied bodies of a man and a woman, both about 80 years old, in the main house on the site.

Authorities discovered two unconscious women, about 60 and 80 years old, in another building, while a badly wounded man in his 60s was found outside. All three were rushed to hospital, where they were pronounced dead, police said.

The alarm was raised by a 32-year-old woman who rang police to say her parents had been stabbed.

Authorities have identified a man arrested in connection to the case as Tatsuhiko Hirano, said Keizo Okumoto, deputy chief of the Sumoto police department.

Local media said Hirano's clothes were spattered with blood and that he had admitted to the multiple killing.

A Twitter account that appeared to be run by the suspect had been used over the past month.

Tweets included one with the address of the homicides and a map of the scene. Other tweets appeared to be about telepathy and stalking.

Hirano lives in the area with his father and grandmother, Jiji Press reported.

Locals told the agency he rarely leaves his home and has largely been isolated from society since his school days.

The phenomenon of hikikomori — literally "the withdrawn" — rears its head frequently in Japan.

Often it applies to maladjusted people in their late teens or early 20s who shut themselves away for years at a time in their parents' homes, many living in darkened bedrooms with little or no human contact.

While many eventually emerge, others continue well into adulthood, protected from the pressures of life by their ageing parents.

Violent crime is relatively rare in Japan. Okumoto said such incidents are unusual in Sumoto, a city of 44,000 people known for its oranges, onions and Awaji beef.

Wire services