A man in his 30s was arrested early Monday on suspicion of attempted murder after allegedly slashing two policemen with a knife in Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture, the local police said.

The man allegedly attacked the two officers, 40 and 35, at around 9:40 p.m. Sunday at his home and on the street, seriously injuring both.

The two officers visited the man to collect paperwork on a traffic offense and had told about their plans in advance, but an altercation occurred and the man attacked them, slashing their faces and arms, the police said.

A relative of the man sustained minor injuries during the altercation, when he apparently tried to help the officers.

The man has admitted to attacking the officers, but because some his speech is incoherent, the police intend to give him a psychological test to determine if he is mentally competent enough to be held responsible for his actions.

The police announced the case in the early hours of Monday but did not warn nearby residents the man was at large. Masaaki Kawahara, deputy chief of the police station in charge of the case, said he had no problems with the way it was handled.

He said there was no need to warn residents because it was nighttime and the man no longer had the knife when he fled.

"We also knew which direction he fled in," Kawahara said.