Japanese boy arrested over bomb plot

Japanese police said yesterday they had arrested a 16-year-old boy on suspicion of trying to manufacture a bomb to blow up his classmates.

Police found materials and ingredients to make hand-made bombs at his home in the northern city of Sapporo, a police spokesman said.

"Police confiscated explosive powder and some chemical substances from his house," he said.

Jiji Press reported that police seized some 50 items - such as screws and rivets - which would have been enough to make explosives as lethal as those used in the London 7/7 attacks in 2005. The boy reportedly got tips from the internet on how to make bombs. The high school student had been arrested earlier this month for allegedly sending a threatening message to a classmate's mobile phone.

"I'm the killing god," the boy said in the message, according to police. "I'll kill. Wiping out those who have made a fool of me is what I live for."