A poisonous red-back spider was found in the garden of a home in Kawasaki, suggesting the invasive alien arachnid is creeping closer to Tokyo.
The Kawasaki resident found the spider along with an ovisac Monday and used a pesticide on them. The spider was later confirmed to be a red-back, which is listed as an invasive alien species by the government.
The first red-back spider found in Japan turned up in the port of Takaishi, Osaka Prefecture, in 1995, presumably arriving aboard a freighter from Australia.