TOKYO: An 18-year-old Japanese soldier was arrested on Wednesday after two people were killed and one and injured in a shooting at a military facility in central Japan, the country’s defense ministry said.
The Self-Defense Force (SDF) member is accused of shooting three people with an automatic weapon at a military shooting range in Gifu City about 9 a.m., the defense ministry said. All three were taken to a hospital, the defense ministry said, and two died of their injuries.
Ground SDF Chief of Staff General Yasunori Morishita told reporters that the man accused of the shooting joined the service in April and that the victims were instructors. Police will conduct an inquiry, he said.
“We will investigate the cause of the incident to ensure that it doesn’t happen again,” Morishita said at a media briefing.
The victims included a man in his 50s and two in their 20s, and there were no reports of civilian casualties, public broadcaster NHK reported.
Shootings are extremely rare in Japan, where gun ownership is tightly regulated and anyone seeking to own a gun must go through a rigorous vetting process.
Former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was shot and killed with a homemade gun in July. The suspect previously worked in the Maritime SDF.
The SDF was dealt a blow in April when a helicopter crashed with 10 crew members on board in the sea off of the southern prefecture of Okinawa.
Japan military member arrested after fatal shooting
https://arab.news/z4syg
Japan military member arrested after fatal shooting
- Self-Defense Force (SDF) member is accused of shooting three people with an automatic weapon
- Victims were transported to hospital
UK upper house approves social media ban for under-16s
LONDON: Britain’s upper house of parliament voted Wednesday in favor of banning under?16s from using social media, raising pressure on the government to match a similar ban passed in Australia.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Monday he was not ruling out any options and pledged action to protect children, but his government wants to wait for the results of a consultation due this summer before legislating.
Calls have risen across the opposition and within the governing Labour party for the UK to follow Australia, where under-16s have been barred from social media applications since December 10.
The amendment from opposition Conservative lawmaker John Nash passed with 261 votes to 150 in the House of Lords, co?sponsored by a Labour and a Liberal Democrat peer.
“Tonight, peers put our children’s future first,” Nash said. “This vote begins the process of stopping the catastrophic harm that social media is inflicting on a generation.”
Before the vote, Downing Street said the government would not accept the amendment, which now goes to the Labour-controlled lower House of Commons. More than 60 Labour MPs have urged Starmer to back a ban.
Public figures including actor Hugh Grant urged the government to back the proposal, saying parents alone cannot counter social media harms.
Some child-protection groups warn a ban would create a false sense of security.
A YouGov poll in December found 74 percent of Britons supported a ban. The Online Safety Act requires secure age?verification for harmful content.
