Saw-wielding man attacks 2 members of Japanese pop group AKB48

TOKYO – Two members of the all-female Japanese pop group AKB48 and one staffer have been injured by a saw-wielding man at a fan event.

Japanese media reports and a statement on the group’s official blog say that 18-year-old Anna Iriyama and 19-year-old Rina Kawaei were cut on their hands and head. A male staff member also was cut on the hand.

They were taken to a hospital late Sunday afternoon for treatment.

Police arrested the attacker, a 24-year-old unemployed man.

The incident happened in Takizawa city in northeastern Japan.

AKB48 is a wildly popular song and dance troupe that has spawned affiliates across the country and in Indonesia, China and Taiwan. It has a rotating cast of more than 90 young women known in Japan as “idols.”