Passengers check information about train delays at JR Kyoto Station in Kyoto’s Shimogyo Ward at 10:39 a.m. on April 12, 2025. (Mainichi/Saki Hidaka)
A worker at JR Kyoto Station reported a suspicious object on a platform early on April 12, prompting West Japan Railway Co. (JR West) to temporarily suspend operations on non-shinkansen bullet train lines at the station.
According to JR West, a station attendant contacted the railway operator’s Osaka command center at around 6:45 a.m., saying, “There is a suspicious object on a platform.” Passengers were evacuated from the platforms of non-bullet train lines and entry to the ticket gates was restricted at the station in Kyoto’s Shimogyo Ward. Tokaido Shinkansen bullet trains kept operating normally.
JR Kyoto Station is seen in this photo taken from a Mainichi Shimbun helicopter on Feb. 16, 2025, in Kyoto’s Shimogyo Ward. (Mainichi/Rei Kubo)
According to Kyoto Prefectural Police’s Shimogyo Police Station, the suspicious item was found on platform No. 4 and No. 5. The styrofoam box measured between around 60 centimeters to 1 meter on each side, with yellow plastic tape wrapped around it. The police sent a mobile unit to the scene to confirm the content of the box and found foreign snacks inside.
A total of 110 train services were canceled, and 42 services, including limited express trains, were delayed up to about two hours and 15 minutes, affecting approximately 76,000 passengers. Services were resumed at around 9:05 a.m.
(Japanese original by Kenichi Isono, Kusatsu Resident Bureau, and Saki Hidaka, Kyoto Bureau)
AloJapan.com