A motorcycle attack on a yakuza-filled van in Chiba Prefecture has left one man injured and bleeding from the head, police said.

The shooting took place Wednesday evening at an intersection on National Route 6 in Matsudo, and close to a police station, investigative sources said.

The police are searching for the biker, who was wearing a helmet, on suspicion of attempted murder.

The injured man is thought to be in his 40s and to have been in the back seat of the van when the shooting occurred. He was taken to a hospital, which alerted the police at around 6:25 p.m., saying a man had been shot and was bleeding from the head, according to the police.

A motorist in his 20s who witnessed the shooting told Kyodo News he heard several gunshots while waiting at a nearby traffic signal.

"I saw a cracked windshield on the van and (it) and the motorbike left the scene," he said.