An Osaka man was arrested Sunday for allegedly posting a message on the Osaka Municipal Government's website in late July that said he intended to "perpetrate mass murder," prefectural police said.
Masaki Kitamura, 42, an anime director from the city of Suita, denied the allegations, the police said, quoting him as saying "I have no recollection of it at all."
Kitamura is suspected of accessing the service inquiry section of the Osaka Municipal Government's website at around 9:45 a.m. on July 29 and writing: "I will perpetrate a mass murder at Otaroad (a shopping district) on Aug. 5."
The police put around 90 officers on alert, but nothing happened.
Kitamura was arrested on suspicion of obstructing the business of municipal employees. The Osaka police also suspect he could be involved in a bomb threat emailed to Japan Airlines Co. on Aug. 1. The threat prompted JAL to order one of its flights to New York to return to Tokyo, but no bomb was found.
Tokyo and Osaka police are now investigating him for involvement in the JAL case, police sources said.