AFP, TOKYO: A man set himself on fire on board a moving bullet train in Japan yesterday, killing himself and one other person.
 Several other passengers had to be treated for smoke inhalation after the man doused himself in flammable liquid and lit a cigarette lighter on the train as it hurtled through the countryside around 70 km southwest of Tokyo.
The Yomiuri Shimbun daily said a blast was heard from a toilet stall at the front of the train, filling the front carriage with choking white smoke, provoking a sudden stop.
Media reported that the driver of the 300-km-per-hour train, which had around 1,000 passengers on board, found the still-burning body of the man after the emergency stop.
“We have been informed that there was a passenger in a car on the train who covered him or herself with oil and set it on fire, a spokesman for operator JR Central told AFP.