AKIPRESS.COM - Two people are dead after one of them set himself on fire on board a Japanese Shinkansen bullet train, public broadcaster NHK reports.

The man had poured fuel over himself in the first carriage of the train, a Japan Rail spokesman told the BBC.

The train was going from Tokyo to Osaka with about 1,000 people on board.

It was near Odawara city when the emergency stop button was pressed - local TV media showed pictures of the train halted with white smoke inside.

At least six others are injured, fire officials said. All trains on the Tokyo-Osaka high speed line have been stopped.

Officials have given no indication of the man's motives but are treating the incident as a suicide.