UPDATE - Japan's Defense Forces' Soldier Detained For Wounding 3 Soldiers At Shooting Range - Tokyo

TOKYO (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 14th June, 2023) A Japanese Self-Defense Force (SDF) officer has been detained for opening fire from an automatic rifle at the force's shooting range and wounding three other SDF servicepeople, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said Wednesday.

"The Self-Defense Force officer, who had fired the shots, has been detained. Three soldiers of the Self-Defense Force have been wounded and hospitalized," Matsuno told an emergency news conference.

Earlier in the day, Japanese broadcaster NHK reported, citing investigative sources, that an SDF officer in his teens has been detained for wounding three people at the shooting range in the Japanese city of Gifu.

At least three people have been injured in the incident, with one of them being in critical condition, the report said.

No civilian casualties have been reported, sources told the media.

One of the injured soldiers has passed away following the incident, the broadcaster reported.

NHK, citing police in Gifu Prefecture, reported that the shooter was an 18-year-old male SDF candidate. He has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder. Police said the shooter opened fire at the SDF range shortly after 9 a.m. local time (00:00 GMT) and injured a 25-year-old male SDF soldier.