Man kills 1, hurts 6 with sickle at Japan shrine

TOKYO (Reuters) - A Japanese man killed one person and injured six with a sickle at the grounds of a Shinto shrine where an autumn festival was winding down, police said on Sunday.

A 42-year-old street stall operator was arrested over the incident, which took place late on Saturday in Hakusan city in Ishikawa prefecture, central Japan, an Ishikawa police spokesman said.

A 30-year-old man died from his injuries, the spokesman said. Kyodo news agency said another victim was seriously hurt and five had minor injuries.

Kyodo said the man told police he had become angry after being teased by a customer, went home and returned to the grounds of the shrine, where around 20 or 30 people remained after the festival, and began slashing at people with the sickle.

Japan, where crime rates are relatively low, was shocked last June when a man who said he was tired of life went on a stabbing rampage in the crowded Tokyo shopping district of Akihabara, killing seven people and wounding a dozen others.

(Reporting by Linda Sieg; Editing by Caroline Drees)