15 teen gang members arrested for assault

Don't the police find it shameful to know that a bunch of 16 and 17 years can “'seize control' of the Tama area". These aren't even hardened criminals; they are a bunch of stupid kids. Why don't the police "seize control” so violence like this doesn't happen.

Wearing helmets? Bosozoku? More like posers. Real bosozoku don‘t wear helmets.

Mirai Hayashi

Don't the police find it shameful to know that a bunch of 16 and 17 years can “'seize control' of the Tama area". These aren't even hardened criminals; they are a bunch of stupid kids. Why don't the police "seize control” so violence like this doesn't happen.

I don't think you are giving credit to the negative potential some Japanese youth could possibly have. Youth all over the world have well organized gangs full of 16 and 17 year olds. Starting with small crimes like these can eventually lead into major crimes. Combine that with large numbers in a gang and it gets even worse. Kids want to fit in and in large groups sometimes have a "mob mentality". I'm a big guy and normally can always walk around without any fear. However, even I know to avoid groups of teens in a dark alley that look like they are up to no good.

Watch City of God, Konkurito, etc.

Do a Google search for "Kids in Gangs" or "Young Gang Leaders". Even go back a couple months here on JapanToday and you will find numerous times kids have beat up, broken personal property, tossed homeless guys into the water, etc. Some of those event the kids might not of been in gangs at the time. Sadly, those types of kids often end up in gangs....

I've lived in Tachikawa for the past 3 years and often frequent the evening scene. There have been very few times that I've seen what I would suspect are teenage gangs. I bet it's even harder for the Police to find as I'm sure the kids avoid them like the plague.

I'd like to see these kind of punks visit a place like Glasgow or Dundee for a short break. We'd soon see how tough they are then.

two high school boys were hit with metal bats and seriously injured.

Wow ...with metal bats.... that can be attempted homecide case to place them in jail to teach them a lesson and to be imitated.

CORRECTION.... "NOT to be imitated.."

Yes, these gangs are terrifying in their large numbers and with metal bats..... lets see how they fair in a one on one , unarmed situatuion ! Deserve a bloody good hiding these J-chavs !

@Leonard Carlson

We're talking about Bosozoku's. These are teen motorcycle gangs who do nothing but stuff up traffic and make a lot of noise to get attention. They rarely carry weapons other than an occasional bat or shinai. Other than that, there is nothing dangerous about them. I would even contend that if you get one or two of them alone, they would be complete cowards. They only act tough when they group together.

The bad part is that the police do absolutely NOTHING about it. I remember being stuck in traffic for several minutes because one of these gangs, traveling in a huge pack of 40-50 members were clogging up an intersection for no real reason other than they can. There were police cars stuck in traffic with us and they were doing NOTHING! Just sitting there with the rest of us, waiting for these brats to get bored and move on. The sad part is that these kids KNOW that the police won't so anything, so they taunt and mock them right in front their faces.

Do a Google search for "Kids in Gangs" or "Young Gang Leaders". Even go back a couple months here on JapanToday and you will find numerous times kids have beat up, broken personal property, tossed homeless guys into the water, etc.

Again, the reason why the kids do this is because the laws are so ridiculously relaxed in this country that the cops don't even bother. They find and catch a gang member who had set fire to people's property or beaten up on elderly people, and they could have mounting evidence against them, but they'll get let go 99% of the time so the cops don't bother.

Lastly, you also have to realize that not all bosozoku are teenagers. Many are well into their 20's, some very close to 30. Kids will be kids, and they'll always try to get attention especially when they aren't getting any attention at home. But the real problem are that the laws are too lenient and the cops are too lazy and or dumb.

Mirai, the police usually takes pictures and then try to arrest them later (assuming the plate numbers are visible and not fake/stolen). if they try to intervene and somebody gets hurt (including the punks), the police gets a lot of heat for "reckless action". I would personally like them to crash the motorcycles and administer the punks a good beating, but unfortunately they can't do that

@timeon

I have never seen these motorcycle with a proper plate on. They are either plateless or are so bent up mangled, its complete illegible.

If the police really wanted to, they could set up road block and bring out the blue and white riot buses to round these guys up.

No no...the cops don't go after these guys because they don't want to. A few years ago, the cops cornered one of these gang members after he got high or drunk and ran his car into a street lamp. He got out his car swinging a bat. What did the group of 10 cops do? They literally ran like a pack of cowards from ONE guy with a bat. Pathetic.

@Mirai Hayashi

"They rarely carry weapons other than an occasional bat or shinai"

That might be true 20 years ago. Nowadays a bunch of them carry knives, that's not unusual

when two high school boys were hit with metal bats and seriously injured.

People are getting all excited about the woman being stabbed (yes it's very serious too) but people do not realize, how deadly an aluminum baseball bat can be, much more lethal than any Knife, even in unskilled hands. One doesn't even need to be hit in the head to cause permanent paralysis, not too mention, even if you are lucky enough to still be alive, you could easily be put in a coma, and end up a drooling vegetable the rest of your life.

Police are trained (I should preface this first) 'REAL' Police are trained, not to even screw around with someone with a baseball bat, they get about 3 Mississippi to drop it, otherwise they would be shot. Bottom line, unless you are packing, your best defense against someone with a bat, is run... That Jackie Chan stuff only works in movies.

I wanna see these dorks ride around any part of LA!!

Gang mentality is just one step from mob mentality. The article states that the victims were members of the gang and were beaten for wearing their helmets the wrong way. Bats can cause fatal blows without hitting the head nor swinging very hard. A blow to the ribs can cause a rib to separate and pierce the heart.

Police said the victims had been members of the gang and were being berated for wearing their helmets the wrong way when the assault took place.

They were arrested Monday over an incident that took place in May in Tachikawa.

Clearly none of them are very bright ..... including the Police .... it 6 months to solve this case? - nice work.

The bosozoku are breeding ground for the yakuza.

Take these budding sociopaths to task in a manner that will ensure they forswear all inclinations toward a life of crime.

how deadly an aluminum baseball bat can be, much more lethal than any Knife, even in unskilled hands

I completely disagree. A bat is only good if the person you're trying to use it on doesn't see you. A knife, gun, or even a fork for that matter is a much more effective weapon, because they are much more portable and concealable. Unless you are wearing a long overcoat (although some of these gangsters do) a bat is not a concealable weapon. Also it takes a lot of motion and momentum to get any kind of effective blow with a bat. If its unexpected, like getting hit from behind for example, then I can see it being dangerous. But in a hand to hand combat situation with the perpetrator facing you, a bat is the dumbest weapon to bring to a fight, unless you really know what you're doing and know how to use it as a weapon. They are heavy and awkward to carry, and can easily be ducked or blocked by someone trained in hand to hand combat (like a cop should be)

That might be true 20 years ago. Nowadays a bunch of them carry knives, that's not unusual

Although I do agree that some do carry knives, bats and shinai's are their weapons of choice, because a lot of times they can escape loopholes in laws and escape weapons charges, should in the rare event a cop decides to arrest them. Secondly, most of these kids are just starving for attention and don't really want to hurt or kill anyone. They just want to intimidate, so they use a bat or shinai or some other non-weapon. And, yes they do still carry bats. I see them in my town all the time.