21-year-old Kazuhiro Kusakabe told authorities he intentionally rammed into pedestrians crowded into narrow Takeshita Street in Harajuku district as a terrorist attack in retaliation for the execution of Aum Shinrikyo doomsday cult members.

[1] Kusakabe said he initially planned an arson attack by spreading kerosene with a high-pressure washer at the crowd at the nearby Meiji Shrine but found that vehicles were not permitted there.

Media quoted the man as claiming he had committed a terrorist act and deliberately driven his car down the narrow street to protest Japan's system of capital punishment and "in retaliation for execution of Aum cult members".

"[4] Police told several media outlets that they were investigating a link between Kusakabe and a doomsday cult, formerly known as Aum Shinrikyo which was responsible for the 1995 Tokyo subway sarin attack.

[6] According to Asahi, the suspect said to police that he had prepared for an arson attack "I planned to set fire by spreading kerosene with the high-pressure washer, targeting a crowd at Meiji Shrine".