The man arrested Friday on suspicion of assaulting top kabuki performer Ichikawa Ebizo at a Tokyo bar in late November has told police he punched the actor but was not the one who initiated the fight, investigative sources said Saturday.
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| Lion Ito KYODO PHOTO |
What the suspect, Lion Ito, 26, has told Tokyo police runs counter to the explanation given to them by Ebizo, 33, who claimed he was suddenly punched while trying to take care of someone who had passed out while drinking.
Ito was quoted by the sources as telling the police: "I (hit him) because I got angry. I was the only one who punched him. But it was not me who picked the fight."
The suspect also said he decided to turn himself in because he felt he had to talk about the incident and he regrets hitting Ebizo, adding he would talk about why he did so after his lawyer arrives, according to the sources.
Ito told the police he was not drunk at the time of the brawl and he threw away the clothes he was wearing at the time. They suspect the clothes may have been stained with Ebizo's blood.
Ito is suspected of punching Ebizo in the face in the early morning of Nov. 25 at a bar on the 11th floor of a building in Tokyo's Nishiazabu district, inflicting severe injuries, including a broken left cheekbone.
Ebizo said he tried to get away by going down an outside stairway. A security video nearby shows someone who appears to be Ito chasing Ebizo in the early hours of Nov. 25, according to the sources.
On Friday night, Ito notified the police through an acquaintance that he intended to turn himself in and investigators found him alone when they took him into custody on a street in Tokyo's Odaiba district, the sources said.
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