*** Off Topic *** >> Japan stock exchange gunman takes hostage <<
link: biz.yahoo.com
By Takao Miyazawa
TOKYO, Jan 13 (Reuters) - A middle-aged man believed to have a gun took a hostage at the Tokyo Stock Exchange on Tuesday, briefly setting off panic among traders, police said.
A police spokesman said the gunman was holding a Finance Ministry official on secondment to the exchange hostage on the building's 14th floor demanding that trading be halted and that Finance Minister Hiroshi Mitsuzuka come to the exchange.
The exchange's main trading is done on the ground floor but as news of the drama spread there was at first panic among about 200 traders running around the floor seeking information.
Police identified the hostage as Masahiro Abe, who was working on the exchange's 14th floor where executive offices, including the chairman's office, are located.
Hundreds of police, some in body armour, surrounded the building and all lifts were stopped from going to the floor.
Police said the man, dressed in a business suit, appeared at the floor's reception area shortly after 1.00 p.m. (0400 GMT), produced his name card and demanded to see Abe.
As is common in relatively crime-free Japan, there are no metal detectors at the exchange entrance.
Japanese media reports said that when Abe appeared, the man suddenly pulled out a ''pistol-like object.''
The receptionist fled, and heard what she thought was a shot moments later, the reports said.
She called to Abe through the closed door of the executive suite, who told her he was all right.
A police spokesman said they had determined that Abe, the gunman and nine executives who worked on the 14th floor were all unharmed.
Despite the pandemonium, trading went on unabated through the crisis until the closing bell.
Traders said rumours about the hostage situation began to spread on the exchange floor but no official announcement was ever made.
We picked up the news from our trading screens, one trader said. We really didn't know what was going on.''
Without any interruption to trading, Tokyo stocks ended slightly firmer on Tuesday.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 average ended 91.50 points or 0.62 percent higher at 14,755.94. Trading volume was also unaffected with turnover of 389 million shares. |
