A 31-year-old newspaper deliveryman was found severely injured in Aichi Prefecture early Wednesday after apparently being shot with a crossbow and stabbed, police said.
The police are investigating the attack as a possible case of attempted murder and are hunting for a man with a dark mask who fled from the scene in a van.
The victim told investigators that he was shot in the chest with a crossbow when he was delivering newspapers at a public housing complex in the town of Taketoyo.
He was also stabbed in the abdomen and sustained cuts to his arm, the police said, adding that his injuries are likely not life-threatening.
On July 12, a similar attack occurred in Handa, a neighboring city within the same prefecture. The victim, a 30-year-old man, was slashed from behind. The attacker apparently wore a dark mask. A fruit knife was found at the scene.
In the latest case, after hearing what sounded like a quarrel, residents found the newspaper deliveryman lying on the ground and saw a man fleeing in a black van.
No weapons have been recovered from the area where the attack occurred.