Two members of the Japanese “Idol” group AKB48 and a male employee who leapt to their defense are recovering after emergency surgery.  They were shaking hands at a meet and greet with fans when a 24-year old man whipped out a hand saw and hacked at the girls, until he was taken down by security.

Authorities are charging 24-year old Satoru Umeta with attempted murder, and police say he confessed although hasn’t given up a motive.  His mother told Japan’s FNN network that prior to this weekend, he did not appear to be interested in the group – he hasn’t so much as purchased a CD (which they still buy in Japan) or a ticket to a performance.

The injured singers are 18-year old Rina Kawaei and 19-year old Anna Iriyama, two of 48 performers in the all-teenage girl performing troupe which performs peppy, hyper-innocent pop songs and dance numbers.  Although it sounds like to caters to pre-teen girls, a big part of AKB48’s fan base are men in their 20s and 30s and worse.  The formula was so successful (yech) that managers repeated it in Osaka, Nagoya, Fukuoka, as well as in Indonesia and China.