72-year-old Japanese pensioner blows himself up in park, injures three others

TOKYO – A 72-year-old retired soldier blew himself up in a park in the Japanese city of Utsunomiya, killing himself and injuring three other people in an apparent suicide, state broadcaster NHK reported.

A second explosion, separate from the blast that killed the former Self Defence Force member, caused a fire in a nearby parking lot, while the man’s home 8 km (5 miles) from the park burnt to the ground, the report said.

The police in the city, which is about 100 km (62 miles)north of Tokyo, said they had discovered a suicide note written by the man and were investigating the three incidents, but did not give further details.

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Images broadcast by NHK showed two burnt out cars, one of which belonged to the dead man, about 200 meters (650 feet) from the park and a charred broken bench at the edge of the park, where a folk art festival was underway.

The explosion in the park injured two men aged 64 and 58, who were being treated for shrapnel wounds. The third victim was a 14 year-old school boy, NHK said.

Witnesses told the broadcaster they heard a series of loud explosions.

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Suicide rates have declined in Japan in recent years, but remain among the highest in the world, with around 30,000 people a year taking their own lives. Experts have pointed to the financial stress of surviving on small pensions for pushing some retired people to end their lives.

In 2015, a 71 year-old man set himself on fire on a bullet train in an incident that also claimed the life of a 52 year-old woman traveling in the same carriage.