Man wielding knife attacks children attempting to commit suicide in Japan

A man with a knife attacked children and other passengers on two buses at a station in Japan today, injuring 13 people. Police arrested Yuta Saito, 27, on charges of attempted murder after he was overcome by passers-by outside Toride station in Ibaraki prefecture, about 25 miles north-east of Tokyo.

"I wanted to end my life. It is true that I wounded people at random with a kitchen knife," Saito, who is unemployed, told police, This is London reports.

Japan has a low crime rate compared with many advanced countries but high-profile violent crimes periodically spark a bout of soul-searching about the fraying of social bonds.

Two years ago, the public was stunned when a 28-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of killing three people by slamming into a pedestrian crossing with a truck and then fatally stabbing four more in Tokyo's popular Akihabara electronics shopping area, Daily Mail informs.