Around 20 people were injured at a luxury shopping complex in central Tokyo on Monday after a man sprayed a substance inside, police and fire department officials said

The road in front of the mall, located in the touristy and upmarket shopping district of Ginza, was blocked following the incident

Tokyo Police Spokesman Yusuke Koide told AFP that the man sprayed a substance at an ATM on the ground floor of the building, while a local fire department official said "around 20 people were injured" after a report of a "smell"

Shoppers watch as emergency personnel carry out response operations outside the Ginza Six shopping complex in Tokyo

Despite the emergency response outside the building, shoppers continued entering and exiting through side entrances as normal activity carried on at the complex

Firefighters and officials dressed in hazmat suits brought people from the mall into specialised trucks to examine them

One 70-year-old woman who was at the mall told the broadcaster that her throat started "stinging and hurting" as she approached the ATM

"By the time I arrived, the commotion had already started, and I thought there might have been a small fire or something. "Once I went into the ATM corner, my throat felt scratchy, almost numb, the lady said

A fire department officer at the scene said police have launched an investigation to determine the exact cause of the incident

Japan remains shaken by the memory of a major subway attack in 1995 when members of the Aum Shinrikyo cult released sarin gas on trains, killing 14 people and making more than 5,800 ill

On March 20, 1995, five members of the Aum cult dropped bags of Nazi-developed sarin nerve agent inside morning commuter trains, piercing the pouches with sharpened umbrella tips before fleeing.