Vehicle carrying noted Japanese director Takeshi Kitano attacked with pickaxe

A vehicle carrying acclaimed Japanese film director and actor Takeshi Kitano was attacked by a man with a pickaxe and a knife, media reports said.

Kitano, 74, also a celebrated television comedian in Japan, was inside the vehicle on the premises of private network TBS in Tokyo when the attack took place late Saturday night, the station reported.

The attacker, a male in his 40s from the Chiba region east of Tokyo, cracked the windshield and beat other parts of the vehicle, TBS and other local media said.

Kitano, also known by his stage name Beat Takeshi, first drew acclaim for his raw depictions of the violent world of Japanese organised crime.

He garnered international fame for his roles in gritty dystopian thriller Battle Royale as well as in comedy game show Takeshi's Castle.

No one was injured in Saturday evening's attack, reports said, which national broadcaster NHK said took place after Kitano had finished filming a live news and entertainment show for TBS.

Police arrested the man on the spot and are interviewing him to determine his motive, NTV said.

Tokyo Metropolitan Police declined to comment when reached by AFP Sunday.