A public safety incident at one of Tokyo’s most high-end shopping destinations has left nearly two dozen people hospitalized and launched a citywide manhunt for a male suspect, Japanese authorities confirmed this week. The attack unfolded on Monday inside the Ginza 6 shopping complex, a landmark luxury retail hub located in the heart of Tokyo’s iconic Ginza district.
According to a police spokesperson, the unidentified man released an unknown chemical substance near an automated teller machine on the complex’s ground floor. Investigators have since determined the substance is almost certainly an irritant spray laced with capsaicin, the active heat-producing compound found naturally in chili peppers.
Witnesses described immediate, uncomfortable symptoms after exposure, with throat irritation, scratching, stinging pain, and numbness reported by multiple people who were in the area at the time of the incident. A 70-year-old woman who spoke to AFP recalled her experience as she approached the ATM: “It started stinging and hurting right away. By the time I got there, the commotion had already started, and I initially thought there might have been a small fire or something. Once I went into the ATM corner, my throat felt scratchy, almost numb.”
By Tuesday, local media reported that at least 19 people affected by the fumes had been transported to local hospitals for evaluation and treatment. First responder teams from across Tokyo converged on the scene rapidly, with uniformed police, city firefighters, and ambulance crews all deploying to the shopping complex. Hazmat-suited emergency personnel led the evacuation of visitors from the affected area of the mall, while local authorities blocked off the public street directly in front of Ginza 6 to secure the crime scene.
Images from the incident site show police cordons sealing off access to the ATM zone, with emergency crews erecting tarpaulin barriers to contain the spread of the chemical irritant. As of the latest update from Japan’s national public broadcaster NHK, the suspect remains at large, and police are continuing their investigation to identify and apprehend the attacker.