Two members of popular Japanese pop group AKB48 were injured after a fan attacked them with a saw.
Rina Kawaei, and Anna Iriyama, 18, were meeting with fans in the northern city of Takizawa on Sunday when a man lunged forward and slashed them with a saw.
They received cysts on their hands and heads according to recent reports. A male staff member was also cut on his hand. The police later arrested the 24-year-old man, identified as Satoru Umeta.
A Tokyo concert scheduled for Monday night was later cancelled due to the recent attack.
AKB48, which was founded in 2005, is hugely popular in Japan and other Asian countries.
The group currently holds the Guinness Book of World Records for being the world’s largest pop group.
AKB stands for Akihabara, the technology district of Tokyo, where the group has its own theatre. Members perform there almost every day.
The number 48 reportedly refers to the original number of members in the group, although it has since expanded.
The current line-up on the group’s website, spread over four main teams and other smaller ones, lists 140 names.
Every year tens of thousands of fans vote on who gets to join the group from a pool of more than 200 candidates, in an event that is widely covered by national media.
After the recent incident it is very understandable that Miley Cyrus would file a restraining order against a crazed fan.
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