Woman attempts Hara-Kiri in front of Japanese PM's home

A woman blocked from driving through a security barrier at the Japanese prime minister’s residence today attempted to kill herself by committing a “hara-kiri” disembowelment, a police official said.

The woman was in critical condition. Identified only as a 50-year-old housewife from Nagano in central Japan, she cut herself in the abdomen, the neck, the left wrist and both upper arms with a small knife as security agents tried to persuade her to come out of her car, a police official said.

The police official said the woman had pamphlets criticising Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi’s government, with a message – written in black ink with a brush – saying "Stop Koizumi’s coalition government".

Police are investigating the case as alleged trespassing and illegal possession of weaponry. But the official quoted her husband as saying that the woman had been psychologically unstable recently.

“Hara-kiri” suicide dates from Japan’s feudal period when ritual suicide was considered an honourable death under the samurai warrior ethic.