Woman Pictured Smoking Cigarette Next To Boyfriend She Just Stabbed

Warning: Graphic Content

Yuka Takaoka/Fiji News Network

A man who was stabbed by his girlfriend has spoken out after a photo of her smoking a cigarette after attacking him went viral.

21-year-old Yuka Takaoka was arrested for allegedly using a kitchen knife to stab her partner, Phoenix Luna, in their home in Japan on May 23.

The victim was taken to hospital and was reportedly given a 20 per cent chance of survival but thankfully he made a recovery.

Fiji News Network

Takaoka’s story quickly became a talking point on social media in Japan, though rather than being shocked at the attack users seemed to find the situation highly compelling.

A disturbing image circulated online showing the 21-year-old covered in blood, casually making a call and smoking a cigarette while Luna lay on the floor next to her with his stomach sliced open.

Internet users were intrigued by the woman’s appearance and according to the Tokyo Reporter she became known on Instagram as the ‘too beautiful attempted murder suspect.’ Some have likened her to an anime character known in Japanese culture as ‘yandere’ and there is even a Know Your Meme page dedicated to her.

Take a look at the image here:

Moodfeed/Twitter

Another image showed Takaoka smiling as she was lead away from the scene in a police car.

An investigator reportedly said Takaoka had found a photograph of her boyfriend, who worked at a bar in the Kabukicho red-light district, with another woman on his phone and she believed Luna had ‘become cold’ toward her.

It’s thought the 21-year-old stabbed her partner while he was sleeping. The investigator said the man then awoke and ‘fled to the first-floor lobby’, where the picture of Takaoka smoking a cigarette was taken.

The young woman told police she ‘couldn’t help’ stabbing Luna because she ‘loved him so much’.

Luna spoke to the Shukan Post, as per the Tokyo Reporter, about the incident, explaining it took him five days to regain consciousness after the attack.

He went on to describe how the attack affected him, saying:

When I thought back to when I was stabbed and considered what I’d do in the future, I was unable to sleep due to anxiety and fear. And [for that], I received counseling.

However, the man said he does not ‘hold a grudge’ against Takaoka for stabbing him.

He explained:

I think there was a reason for her to stab me. It was also thanks to her that I was able to achieve the sales that I did in less than a year since I became a host.

Luna was glad the incident allowed him to reconnect with family members as police contacted his relatives when he was in hospital. He met his brother and sister for the first time in five years and commented ‘I’ll be very happy to stay in touch with them in the future.’

Takaoka remains in custody and will appear in court over the next few days.

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Emily Brown

Emily Brown first began delivering important news stories aged just 13, when she launched her career with a paper round. She graduated with a BA Hons in English Language in the Media from Lancaster University, and went on to become a freelance writer and blogger. Emily contributed to The Sunday Times Travel Magazine and Student Problems before becoming a journalist at UNILAD, where she works on breaking news as well as longer form features.