Japan arrests 4 over weapons smuggling

TOKYO (Reuters) – Japanese police have arrested four men,
two of them from the Philippines, on suspicion of smuggling
explosives and guns that could be used in a terrorist attack,
domestic media said on Friday.

Police suspect the four shipped an unspecified quantity of
explosives, along with revolvers and ammunition, to the port
city of Yokohama on a Philippines-registered ship, Kyodo news
agency said.

Investigators also searched premises belonging to a crime
syndicate known as the Inagawa-kai in Yokohama in connection
with the incident, Kyodo said.

Public broadcaster NHK said the weapons could be used in a
terrorist attack.

Tokyo and Yokohama police declined to comment on the
reports.

Japanese police said in a report last year that the country
was at risk of attack because of its close links with the
United States.