TOKYO, JAPAN - AN ASSAILANT on Wednesday threw a firebomb at the Japanese foreign ministry building before attempting suicide, Kyodo News reported.

The man, believed to be in his late 20s, hurled the bomb and then stabbed himself in the abdomen, the news agency said, quoting police. No one was injured in the incident.

Five police cars were seen parked at the foreign ministry as dozens of reporters rushed to the scene.

An official at the Tokyo fire department said an emergency call came in at 5:42 pm (0942 GMT).

'An ambulance was dispatched to the foreign ministry as we had a call and report that a man injured himself,' said the official, without providing further details.

Spokesmen for the foreign ministry and Tokyo police both said they were unaware of any incident.

Japan has seen occasional firebomb attacks, which rarely cause serious damage, by activists opposed to government policies.

In February last year, a Japanese far-left group hurled homemade explosives at a US army base near Tokyo in a protest against the Iraq war and an upcoming visit by US Vice President Dick Cheney.

In 2005, a mentally ill woman tried unsuccessfully to disembowel herself with a fruit knife in front of the prime minister's office to protest the policies of then premier Junichiro Koizumi. -- AFP