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Man Arrested for Threatening Nana Mizuki Online

A 21-year-old Japanese man was arrested on Thursday for posting a message on the 2ch online message board in which he allegedly threatened to kill voice actress and singer Nana Mizuki and her fans. According to the authorities, the suspect Masaki Hori wrote on June 19 at around 4:46 a.m., "I'll use a dagger knife and a two-ton truck to commit a massacre" upon Mizuki and her devotees at Yoyogi, the Tokyo site of her planned concert on July 5. The weapons described in the message echo the weapons used in the June 8 massacre in Akihabara that left seven people dead.

Hori is a part-time worker at a shop for the Yomiuri Shimbun paper in Kawasaki City in central Japan. According to the police investigation, Hori wrote the message to see what reaction it would cause. The authorities did not find a dagger knife or a two-ton truck at Hori's home or its surroundings. They believe that it is highly possible that Hori was motivated by his desire to see people's reactions to threats, but they intend to continue investigating for other alleged crimes.

Mizuki went ahead and performed her concert before a full house of 12,000 attendees on the evening of July 5 at the Yoyogi National Gymnasium arena. Before singing her final song, she briefly touched upon the arrest by mentioning her surprise and feelings of regret at the recent news. She said the experience reminded her that there would be trouble and stress in a long life, but it is important to be light-hearted and spur-of-the-moment. She added, "I want all of you to take more care of yourselves." Mizuki has performed dozens of vocal roles in her decade-long career, including Naruto's Hinata Hyuga, Fullmetal Alchemist's Wrath, and Rosario + Vampire's Moka Akashiya.

Seven hours before the Akihabara massacre on June 8, a person posted a mobile phone bulletin board message in which he claimed he would kill people with a vehicle and a knife. The police are attempting to link this message and others to the suspect in the Akihabara case, Tomohiro Katō. Kyoto's High-Tech Crime Task Force began monitoring online forums for predictions of crimes in the wake of the Akihabara massacre, and their investigation on the threat against Mizuki led police to Hori.

Source: Nikkan Sports, Sports Nippon

Thanks to user Siegel Clyne for submitting the news to ANN.