A car crashed into an event held at municipal offices in Hitachi, Ibaraki Prefecture, on Wednesday, injuring three people, the local fire department has said.
The fire department received an emergency call at around 1 p.m. saying a car plunged into the venue before driving away. A woman in her 40s, a man in his 30s and another man in his 20s were hit and suffered injuries but are conscious, the department said.
The event was held to sell items such as woodcraft products and cookies made by people with disabilities.
About half an hour later, another emergency call was made by an official at the village office of Tokai in the prefecture, located around 15 kilometers south of Hitachi, saying a car had been driven into the office's main entrance.
A man who was driving the car was injured and taken to a hospital.
According to investigators, the car that drove into the Hitachi Municipal Government offices was black, and there was a witness report that someone was sitting next to the driver.
Meanwhile, the car that was driven into the main entrance of the Tokai village office was white.
A man in his 50s who lives in Hitachi is suspected of driving both of them, changing cars in between the two incidents, the investigators said.