A death threat has been sent to the election office of Renho, a candidate in Tokyo’s July 7 gubernatorial election, investigative sources said on Monday.
A lawyer for Renho, a former member of the House of Representatives, reported the death threat to the police on Sunday. The Akasaka Police Station of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department is investigating the incident for suspected harassment.
According to the sources, a fax message was sent to Renho’s election office in Kita-Aoyama Ward of Tokyo’s Minato Ward on Sunday morning.
The message read: “I have obtained sulfuric acid and I will attack lawmakers of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and their families. I will repeatedly stab Renho to death with a knife.
“I will set up explosives and detonate them on June 24.”
Renho left the CDP, Japan’s largest opposition party, earlier this month to run as an independent candidate in the Tokyo gubernatorial election.
A fax containing similar threats was also sent Sunday morning to a building in Tokyo where the CDP’s headquarters are located.
According to the sources, the faxes were sent via an overseas route and did not contain any reference to the Tokyo elections.
