The knife attack on a bullet train late Saturday night that left one dead and two injured has prompted experts to urge stronger safety measures for rail travel as Tokyo prepares to host major sports in the next two years.
"I believe we're at the stage where introducing measures such as random checks of carry-on luggage or installing metal detectors is essential," Jun Umehara, a journalist who specializes in trains and railways, told the Japan Times by telephone.
In Saturday's incident on the Nozomi No. 265 on the Tokaido Shinkansen Line, a 22-year-old man fatally stabbed a 38-year-old man and slashed two women in their 20s on a bullet train carrying some 880 passengers.