19-year-old Imperial Guard officer commits suicide in compound

TOKYO — An Imperial Guard officer was found with a gunshot wound to his head Thursday in the imperial compound in Akasaka. He was later confirmed dead at a hospital in an apparent suicide, Imperial Guard officials said.

The 19-year-old officer, who was assigned duty at the imperial guard station on the Akasaka Estate, where Emperor Akihito's eldest son Crown Prince Naruhito and other imperial family members live, was found inside a restroom at a standby area for on-duty officers around noon Thursday, the officials said. No suicide note has been found. The officer was assigned to the station after completing his training program at the Imperial Guard academy in February, according to the officials"