"As an organization that handles weapons, such things should never happen," chief of staff of the ground forces Yasunori Morishita told a press conference at the defense ministry in Tokyo, as quoted by media.
The 18-year-old male trainee opened fire from an automatic rifle at his teammates during an exercise at the ground forces' shooting range in the Japanese city of Gifu at around 9 a.m. local time (00:00 GMT). The shooting killed two trainees aged 25 and 52 and injured one aged 25, Japanese news agency reported, citing the police. The shooter was reportedly arrested.
Following the incident, the ground forces suspended all shooting and explosion drills across the country to ensure the safety of troops, Morishita was cited as saying.
Japanese Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada also apologized for the incident.