BEIJING, Feb. 12 (Xinhuanet) -- A man has been sentenced to six years in jail for slashing teenage stars of Japanese pop female group AKB48 with a saw at a fan event, according to media reports on Thursday.
At a "hand-shaking event" for fans last May in Takizawa City, Iwate Prefecture in northeastern Honshu, Japan, Satoru Umeta took a foldable saw from his jacket, got close to singers Rina Kawaei and Anna Iriyama, both 19, along with one of the group's male employees and attacked them.
The victims were cut on their hands and face, and hospitalized overnight.
The presiding judge in Morioka District Court said the 24-year-old Japanese man attacked them because he was frustrated over not being able to find a job.
Established in 2005, AKB48 has a rotating cast of more than 90 young women, and affiliates across the country and in Asia. Its members are dubbed "idols you can meet" because of their fan events, at which those who buy special CDs can shake hands and chat briefly with their favorite member.
(Agencies)
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