Knives Found Near School Desk of Emperor's Grandson, Kyodo Says

(Bloomberg) -- Japanese police are investigating after knives were discovered near the desk of Prince Hisahito, grandson of Emperor Akihito, at a junior high school in Tokyo, Kyodo News reported.

The school alerted police after finding two cooking knives near the prince’s desk on Friday afternoon, according to the report. Security camera footage caught a middle-aged man in a helmet and bluish clothes entering the school building around noon that day, and police are searching for the person, Kyodo said.

A spokeswoman at the Metropolitan Police Department declined to comment on the report, and the school didn’t immediately respond to a voicemail message seeking comment.

Akihito, 85, will step down Tuesday, and a new Japanese imperial era called Reiwa will start May 1. It is the nation’s first imperial abdication in two centuries.

To contact the reporter on this story: Takashi Nakamichi in Tokyo at tnakamichi1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Shamim Adam at sadam2@bloomberg.net, Edward Johnson

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