A Japanese opposition politician known for his aggressive probing into ruling party corruption scandals has been stabbed to death in what could be the country's first political assassination in more than four decades.
Police said Democratic Party politician Mr Koki Ishii (61) was attacked in front of his home in central Tokyo by an unidentified man in his 50s who ran away.
With the perpetrator still on the run, the motive for the crime was unclear. Japanese lawmakers have been attacked in the past, sometimes by right-wing extremists with gangster links.
However this was a rare case of deadly violence against a politician in a land which has only seen three political assassinations.
Media reports said Mr Ishii had been about to step into his car when a man wearing a red bandana approached and stabbed him, apparently with a sashimi knife, without saying anything. The man had been seen outside Mr Ishii's home in the upmarket Setagaya neighbourhood for about two hours before the killing, the reports said.
"I'm very shocked. He worked hard against corruption," said local shopkeeper Ms Machiko Usuki, who gasped and raised her hands to her face on hearing the news.
The area near Mr Ishii's house swarmed with police and crime scene investigators after the stabbing, which triggered an emotional response from politicians.
"Political activity should in no circumstances be hindered by violence. I feel very angry," the Prime Minister, Mr Junichiro Koizumi, said. The Democratic Party leader, Mr Yukio Hatoyama, echoed the sentiment. "I'm truly shocked. We must not let this happen again. He had been fighting a lone battle against corruption."
Mr Ishii was known for his efforts to expose corruption and was head of an anti-corruption task force inside the Democratic Party.
He was also active in investigating the activities of the Aum Supreme Truth Cult, which carried out the deadly sarin gas attacks on the Tokyo subway in 1995.
Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party has been tainted over the years by corruption scandals. Three of seven by-elections to be held tomorrow are to replace LDP politicians forced to step down .
Although there have been some past attempts on politicians' lives - including a 1994 attempted shooting of then-prime minister Mr Morihiro Hosokawa by a right-wing extremist - Mr Ishii was only the third Japanese politician to die from a violent attack.
In 1960, Socialist Party leader Inejiro Asanuma was stabbed to death at a political rally by a right-wing youth and in 1990, a former labour minister Hyosuke Niwa died of wounds inflicted by a deranged man.
- (Reuters)