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Man irked by Japan go-karting noise arrested for attempted arson / Photo: © AFP/File
Man irked by Japan go-karting noise arrested for attempted arson
A Japanese man enraged by the noise of go-karting popular with foreign tourists was arrested Wednesday for trying to set fire to the motor vehicles, according to police and local media.
Go-karting is a popular sight in Japan -- the birthplace of Super Mario -- with tourists, dressed up as the video game icon and other characters, allowed to manoeuvre their way through Tokyo streets.
The 28-year-old Japanese man was arrested on charges of attempted arson, Tokyo police told AFP.
Police said the man was suspected of setting fire last month to waste on the premises of a Tokyo company that operates go-karting tours, with flames spreading to its parked go-karts.
Nearby walls were also burned, but the fire was quickly extinguished, police said.
Public broadcaster NHK quoted the suspect as telling investigators that he was "stressed out by the engine noise of the go-karts".
His workplace was reportedly located adjacent to the scene of the fire.
The go-karting operator received a letter in May threatening to "set karts aflame if engines are turned on after tomorrow", NHK reported, adding that police were probing a link to the arson attack.
P. Gomes--JDB
