Apr 23, 2019 (Japan Times) - One Japanese national was killed and four others injured in terrorist attacks in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said Monday. The attacks left at least 290 dead and more than 500 injured.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told reporters that Tokyo “never tolerates†such violence, and is “determined to combat terrorism†by cooperating with the Sri Lankan government and internationally.
The dead Japanese national was a woman identified as Kaori Takahashi, a local resident whose age was not immediately known, according to a Kyodo News report quoting unnamed government sources. One of the four injured was reportedly a worker at the Japanese Embassy in Colombo, and another was Kazukiyo Yajima of telecom carrier KDDI Corp., according to Kyodo News.
A spokesperson for KDDI Corp. confirmed to The Japan Times that one of their workers was injured at a local hotel and was hospitalized as of Monday afternoon. He was able to speak and walk despite his injury, the spokesperson said.
The worker had been visiting Sri Lanka together with 10 other KDDI workers on a business trip.
Churches, luxury hotels and other sites were hit by explosions in the nine bombings.
At least 35 foreigners are counted among the dead, including Takahashi, according to Kyodo News.
Local police have reportedly arrested 13 suspects in connection with Sunday’s bombings.
Defence Minister Ruwan Wijewardene described the blasts as a terrorist attack by religious extremists, although there was no immediate declaration of responsibility, according to AP.
During the news conference in Tokyo, Suga declined to identify any of the five Japanese victims, saying the government had yet to gain the consent of their families.
