Resentful Japan man admits driving SUV into schoolchildren in Osaka

A man in Japan who was arrested for attempted murder after ploughing his car into a group of primary schoolchildren last week reportedly harboured deep resentment towards those he perceived as living comfortable lives.

A seven-year-old girl was seriously injured in the incident in Osaka, suffering a fractured jaw, while six others – all boys – escaped with minor bruises and scratches, local reports said.

The suspect, identified as Yuki Yazawa, 28, was arrested at the scene in the city’s Nishinari ward, Senbonnaka 2-chome district, on Thursday.

Investigative sources told The Japan Times newspaper that he had admitted to disliking people “living without hardship”.

Yazawa told police he had deliberately targeted the seven children as they were walking home from school, according to the Asahi Shimbun newspaper.

“I was fed up with everything, so I crashed my car into a crowd of people, intending to kill them,” the newspaper quoted him as saying. “I tried to run over the schoolchildren.”