An 86-year-old man took two women hostage in a Japanese post office after reportedly setting his home on fire and shooting into a hospital. The hostages were unharmed after an eight-hour ordeal, but two people were injured at the hospital in Saitama, near Tokyo.
The hostage-taker, Tsuneo Suzuki, had a grudge against the postal service and was reportedly angry with a doctor at the hospital. Suzuki was armed with a handgun attached to a cord around his neck, two knives, and containers with an unspecified liquid. Crime rates are low and gun violence is rare in Japan due to strict firearms laws.