Two children murdered in Japan

A woman has been arrested in Japan on suspicion of stabbing two five-year-old children to death.

The children, reported to be classmates of the woman's own child, were found at the side of the road in Shiga prefecture, west of Tokyo.

One was already dead and the other died shortly afterwards in hospital.

Compared to other countries, Japan has a low crime rate. But a recent spate of murders has caused widespread panic, with schools stepping up security.

The woman is reported to have picked up the children to take them to school along with her own child, a police spokesman told reporters.

She then repeatedly stabbed them, and tossed their bodies into nearby rice fields, police said.

According to the Japanese press, a passer-by spotted the body of the girl, Wakana Taketomo. The boy, Jin Sano, was found shortly afterwards in an irrigation ditch.

Taketomo was pronounced dead on arrival at hospital, while Sano died several hours later.

The woman has reportedly admitted to carrying out the attacks, but her motive remains unclear.


Parents' anxiety

Japan has recently seen a string of murders of small children.

Late last year, two seven-year-old girls were killed in separate incidents while on their way home from school.

Parents are becoming increasingly nervous about their children's safety, calling for better security on the long walk that many children customarily take to school.

School uniforms fitted with global positioning transmitters are being sold and some schools have fitted sensors in their gates that inform parents their offspring have arrived safely.