5 Home-Made Missiles Fired at Central Tokyo

At least five homemade missiles were fired today in central Tokyo, scattering throughout a district housing Parliament, Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone’s official residence and major government offices.

The attack was launched from two parked cars at the height of the evening rush hour, but police at the scene said there were apparently no casualties in the crowded streets and no damage.

One police official blamed Japanese radicals for the 5:30 p.m. attack. The official would not say whether the projectiles contained explosives.

He said three missiles were fired from a car parked near the Tokyo prosecutor’s office. Two of them were found in the street about 330 yards away and the third was near the car, whose trunk contained launchers made from iron pipes, he added.

Not Meeting

The Diet, or Parliament, building is about 770 yards from where the car was parked. Although currently in session, the Diet was not meeting today.

The official said at least two other missiles were fired from another car parked almost a mile west of the prosecutor’s office. One missile was found on a hotel’s tennis court and the other on the roof of a building, the official said.

He said the missiles were fired almost simultaneously and were about 2.4 inches in diameter and four inches long.

In May, radicals fired homemade missiles at the state guest house, the U.S. Embassy, the Imperial Palace, the crown prince’s residence and a police headquarters in Osaka before the seven-nation summit meeting in Tokyo. A policeman suffered burns in the attack.