The trainee was arrested at the range on attempted murder charges and said there was “no denying” he shot the victims, according to police.
The trainee, who was not identified, joined the Self-Defense Forces in April. The victims were the soldiers training him, Yasunori Morishita, chief of staff of the Ground Self-Defense Force, said at a news conference Wednesday afternoon. All shooting exercises were halted Wednesday at Self-Defense Forces facilities after the incident.
The fatal shooting of former prime minister Shinzo Abe last year shocked Japan, because gun violence — especially shootings unrelated to yakuza gang activities — is relatively rare in Japan, where firearms are strictly controlled. The shooting at the firing range is the first such incident in nearly four decades, when a 21-year-old shot four people at a Self-Defense Forces shooting range, killing one and injuring three.
Last month, a man fatally stabbed a woman in Nagano prefecture, in central Japan, and opened fire on officers with what appeared to be a hunting rifle, killing two of them. A fourth person was also killed.
Pietsch reported from Seoul.
