SAITAMA -- Three men believed to be foreigners were taken to the hospital after a suspected incident in Saitama Prefecture, north of Tokyo, on Jan. 19.

The local fire department received an emergency call that morning reporting "a foreign man covered in blood" on a prefectural road in the city of Koshigaya. Paramedics found one man collapsed and bleeding. While treating him, two other injured men arrived at the scene, according to the fire department and prefectural police. The three men, thought to be in their 20s to 30s, were taken to hospital, with two reportedly in serious condition.

The incident occurred in an area with scattered fields and businesses, about 1.8 kilometers north of JR Higashi-Kawaguchi Station. Police are investigating the circumstances, suspecting the injuries resulted from an altercation.

(Japanese original by Kotaro Adachi, Saitama Bureau)