-- An 18-year-old boy was killed and his teenage friend was injured early Sunday after they were attacked by a group of bat-wielding young men in Mihama, Aichi Prefecture, police said.

Kazuomi Nakano, a worker at a local car repair shop, was killed in the attack that took place around 5 a.m. in a convenience store parking lot.

Nakano, along with the other injured boy, also 18, was rushed to hospital but soon died from shock, according to the police. Nakano had been hit on the head and stabbed in the buttocks, they said.

His unidentified friend, also 18 years old, suffered minor injuries.

The two victims were friends who became acquainted at a vocational school where they were studying automobile repair.

Police are investigating the incident as a murder and trying to locate the estimated 10 attackers, three of whom had bats and at least one of whom was wearing a helmet.

Police are questioning the surviving victim and plan to perform an autopsy on Nakano to confirm the cause of death.

A local 48-year-old male resident witnessed the beating and called the police.