A 55-year-old man died Thursday after an unidentified man stabbed him several times with an umbrella in Hatsukaichi, Hiroshima Prefecture, police said.
Toshimi Kuwahara, a resident of Hatsukaichi, was stabbed several times in the face and neck at around 7 a.m. on the street outside his mother's house, his mother told police.
Kuwahara managed to alert his 77-year-old mother and was rushed to a nearby hospital, but he died about an hour later, police said. He reportedly told his mother that he did not know his attacker.
Doctors believe Kuwahara died of a brain contusion caused by an injury to the right cheek, police said. An autopsy was to be conducted Thursday evening.
Witnesses saw Kuwahara and a man in a navy-blue suit shouting at each other prior to the assault, police said. The assailant, described as being around 165 cm tall and in his 20s or 30s, fled the scene immediately, the witnesses told police.
One of the witnesses said the argument began when the man complained that Kuwahara's car, which he had parked on the street outside his mother's home, was blocking traffic.
Kuwahara's mother's home is in a quiet residential area surrounded by fields.
According to local residents, the road is often used as a shortcut to a nearby bus station. Police suspect that the man who attacked Kuwahara may be a commuter who uses the bus stop.
A 70-year-old female neighbor said the attack had left her speechless.
"I feel really sorry for what happened," she said.