Ye Shengfeng Arrested Over Alleged Capsaicin Spray Attack in Tokyo

What changed

Tokyo’s Metropolitan Police Department arrested Ye Shengfeng, a 24-year-old Chinese university student from Osaka Prefecture, over an alleged capsaicin spray attack at the Ginza Six shopping complex on May 25. Police say Ye sprayed a man in his 30s near an ATM, then fled by subway; 25 people were sent to hospital with eye and throat pain. Security footage also shows Ye meeting another man whom police suspect may have been involved.

Why it matters

The arrest shifts the case from an unidentified attack to an investigation with a named suspect and a possible second participant. But the central allegation remains unresolved: Ye has declined to speak during questioning, the other man’s role is unconfirmed, and no motive has been reported.

The location matters because the incident unfolded inside a large shopping complex in Tokyo’s upscale Ginza district, where a spray aimed at one person quickly affected many others. The next significant step will be whether investigators can establish what happened around the ATM area, identify the second man’s involvement, and clarify why the attack occurred.