Koji Nagakubo, who was arrested Friday after holding five hostages at knifepoint in an Aichi Prefecture bank, had told an employee of a nearby karaoke establishment that he was about to commit a crime at the branch, police sources said Saturday.
After a near 13-hour standoff, police in full protective gear stormed Toyokawa Shinkin Bank's branch in Zoshi in the early hours of Friday and apprehended Nagakubo, who apparently took the captives to demand the resignation of Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda's administration less than a month before the general election.
According to the sources, Nagakubo, 32, dropped by the karaoke box, located some 150 meters from the branch, shortly before the incident began and informed one of the employees about his intention to attack the bank with a knife. Nagakubo then left without paying.