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© KYODO16 schoolgirls, 2 adults stabbed in rampage in Kawasaki; 1 child, 1 man dead
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madmanmunt
What horror.
JJ Jetplane
This is horrible. Nothing you go through could justify targeting children like this.
therougou
Coward. I hope they tie him up and stab him to death slowly with forks.
Moderator
Readers, please calm down and refrain from posting remarks like this.
Chico3
I hear death penalty on this. This really is tragic and shocking. No justification for this. My prayers for those involved and their families.
kohakuebisu
That's horrific. Fingers crossed for all the victims.
(I believe in the NZ approach of trying to avoid naming the perp. Do not let him go down in infamy)
Maria
Oh dear, this is terrible. Those poor children, and the parents must be terrified, waiting to learn the news.
Do the hustle
So, I wonder what ticked off this psycho. Hopefully not too many are dead.
Stewart Gale
@reckless, he stabbed himself in the shoulder so possibly not.
To speculate, this is what happens when mental illness is hidden away and left untreated.
I see what I would describe as “crazy” people walking around every single day here.
Madden
I can't even think of words to make a proper comment, a combination of anger and sadness.
redelmotalking
Another tragic consequence I’ll bet of untreated mental illness, and a society that heaps too much pressure on people, who then release it on the weak and defenceless.
doel jusino
W.T.F. This guy was having a bad day and thought stabbing people & children would make his day a little bit better. This guy should have been killed on the spot.
Michael Craig
My prayers to all those who were attacked. Especially the innocent children!
Ganbare Japan!
Terrible news, I pray for the children that they are OK.
ulysses
This is just so sad. My thoughts are with the children , hope the rest of them recover.
Stewart Gale
For a country that prides itself on being “safe,” there are an awful lot of these types of rampage killings in Japan.
A lot of knife crime too, from what I read.
PTownsend
RIP those murdered. Heal well all those injured. Hopefully each person affected in any way by this will be helped. Thank you to all emergency responders and any bystanders who risked their lives to help.
Hopefully the full force of the law will be brought down on this murderer.
It would be reassuring to think a 'motive' could be found for this brutal, cowardly act. If so, that could reduce the likelihood of further hideous crimes like this.
A reality, however, is no motive - motive like those used to wrap up Agatha Christie and A.C. Doyle books - will be found. A reality could be something has long been wrong in the 'wiring' of this man and the organic algorithms that regulate him.
Of course better mental health care is needed. But it's still a huge challenge when dealing with any human, a being whose brain is made up of billions of neurons connected by trillions of synapses, the most complex unit on the planet. A unit that is affected by everything in its environment.
Anonymous
@Stewart Gale
Me, too.
Situational awareness needs to be much higher.
Poor kids. This is life theft.
showchinmono
Yes I do too.
Yes indeed.
Anyone who lives here for long enough, would notice something seriously wrong with the country
kohakuebisu
The tv is saying that some of the kids were waiting for a school bus to an international/Catholic school called Caritas Gakuen.
Fingers crossed for everyone.
bass4funk
Terrible, terrible, some people just don’t have any business being loose and free on the streets. We need to find a better way of screening mentally disturbed people and either get them the help they need or they need to be locked up and given proper attention, if people want to physically harm you, they’ll use anything and whether it’s a knife or a gun you will never eliminate attacks by mentally disturbed people, but you can minimize the risk with proper care and observation.
Realization
Agreed @ therougou, no Marcy for such Coward,
Giveme_abreak
My heart bleeds for all the victim...this man is a coward...he is a pure evil wanting to hurt those innocent kids
jcapan
My own elementary school age daughter is having a crime-awareness lesson later today. It'd be nice to think there's anything children or we as parents could do to prevent this sort of thing, or cars running down kids for that matter, but I'm afraid such control will never be ours. Being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Even the kids who survive will be traumatized, perhaps their entire lives. I weep for them and their families. Gosh, anyone who even witnessed such a senseless act of butchery.
Name and shame everyone who has enabled a guy like this to reach this point. Why didn't he receive the care he obviously needed. Sane people don't go on stabbing sprees, period.
Bugle Boy of Company B
There have been at least 3 deaths.
Joe Blow
I said it before and I'll say it again: bring back mental asylums.
Treat the patients there humanely, of course, but make sure they're off the streets.
Lots of mental health experts have been saying the same thing for a few years now.
hachikoreloaded
Positive thoughts, prayers and hoping for the best for the victims.
Concerned Citizen
Heartbreaking. Poor children suffering such terror.
Thoughts and prayers for the victims and families.
elephant200
"INCELs Rampaging" INCEL means : Involuntary Celibate ! That is a guy who cannot have a normal relationship with females or finding a female companion! He got outraged and blames on the society or taking assault actions to express his angers over the female gender as vengeance! I think this guy could be this one symdrome! This is not a joke but a social problem in industrirized countries but ignored!
My heart goes to all the victims and I wish them stay alive!
darknuts
So are there two dead?
NZ2011
We as a social species take cues from those around us, and for the most part get along well enough, I suspect however its very likely that the warning signs for this man were apparent for quite some time.
This is where the not causing a fuss, not wanting to confront issues directly part of Japanese culture, while very practical in some cases, in this case probably has cost people their lives.
A terrible situation and I feel deeply for the people who were expecting their loved ones home this evening.
Thoughts and Prayers however, never has a less useful thing ever been said, its tough to know what to say of course and have a tendency towards platitudes but action is the only thing that will change the future.
Serengoza
@Stewart Gale
Agreed. I see dozens of borderliners on my way to and from work in Tokyo/Yokohama. A LOT of passive aggressive behavior all around from just about anyone over 30.
Jimi
As usual in Japan whenever there is a crime like this it is either women or children who are targeted, cowards! Mental health is also non existent due to the sweep it under the rug mentality that is all pervasive.
garypen
Why can't they say "dead" or "killed"?
lucabrasi
@Joe
Agree completely. But mental hospitals, just like schools and museums and libraries cost money, and most people don't seem interested enough in building a decent society to look past their latest tax bill.
Boy Next Door
Mental health is one of the most overlooked issues in this country. I think it's about time, the government must address this serious problem. My love and prayers go out to all the victims.
Whatsnext
more mental hospitals please. It's not the knife that attacked the children but the mind behind the knife.
JapanFan
What the ........ is going on in my favorite country??????? Where are these loonies coming from???
I still haven't forgotten about the little girl that was molested by her father and killed by him.
juminRhee
Kohakuebisu:
"I believe in the NZ approach of trying to avoid naming the perp. Do not let him go down in infamy."
Many countries had this approach previously to preserve sanctity of trial by jury in court of law rather than trial by media in court of public opinion, but gave into pressure. Now, one only need to point and say "witch" (ie child mlester, rpist, murderer) and, without a trial, your name is dragged through the mud and you get fired. The media should protect both the victim amd the accused until after a guilty conviction.
juminRhee
The media and govt should protect...
Haaa Nemui
Bit devastated today. Just passed Noborito on my daily commute. Was walking through Musashi-Kosugi and it seems the girls from Caritas have all been sent home early. Can't imagine what possesses somebody to cause such harm. So sad.
I know we all have our disagreements on here but take care out there people.
sensei258
The guilty person died. Hope everyone else recovers
simon g
Does this end the "Japan is safe" mantra that is so often trotted out? Even after the Aum Sarin attacks and nuclear plant meltdown, it was an almost constant.
Bad crazy people exist everywhere.
RIP innocents and condolences to their loved ones.
お悔やみ申し上げます。
quercetum
Parents may have to walk their kids to school or choose schools within walking distance to have the peace of mind. Imagine every time you say have a good day at school could be the last time you see your child
Cameron Lett
This is precisely why my wife and I are considering moving back to NZ. It seems as if this type of occurrence is becoming more and more common here. I hope the families and friends of the victims find comfort one way or another.
Danny Bloom
Girls were 6, 7 years old students waiting for school bus in Kawasaki to take them to private girls Catholic primary school founded by Canadian nuns. 1 little girl died from knife wounds, an angel now in heaven, other girls survived. An adult man also died. And an adult woman. The killer stashed himself in suicide gesture, died later in hospital. All these on same day Trump was still visiting Abe at Sdf base, not so far away. Prayers for everyone. Mental health issues important in all nations, China too. Guns, knives, car rammings, what next?
ArtistAtLarge
What a despicable person. Utterly despicable.
Toasted Heretic
Horrific. What is causing men to act out their violent fantasies like this? I've said it before, though, this is still random and Japan is one of the safest countries in the world. More resources need to be on hand for those with severe mental health problems.
RIP to the victims and those who will have to deal with the trauma of this senseless tragedy.
And for those calling for vengeance and death penalties - remember that the individual responsible for this is a victim, too.
Luddite
Horrific.
kyushubill
Don't forget to hug your kids and tell them you love them.
showchinmono
He's dead already. Whether he had mental decease or not could be guessed only from the ones who knew him recently. Whether he was drug user or not should also be clarified
zettaiEngineer
Japan is comparatively much safer due to gun restrictions than the US.
Society can't predict the actions of deranged individuals.
Stewart Gale
@zettaiEngineer
Yes, but it can surely do something to limit the amount of deranged individuals roaming the streets freely.
shogun36
PLEASE do not hurt innocent children. If you are that weak to handle daily life, blame yourself, not others around you. ESPECIALLY innocent children who are nothing but positive influences.
Killer, I hope you suffered badly before your demise.........
RickyC
undiagnosed & untreated mental illnesses are the biggest reason on the increase of such kind of incidents, if it's continue to be taboo for the people to seek psychological advice or treatment in here or if the health-service providers continue to prescript the pills only without involving the cases sensitively, unfortunately, we'll continue to see much more tragic incident with an accelarated pace.
Historically, japan as a society, hiding mental illnesses inside of the family to defuse the potentially harmful mentally ill person and to be ashamed as a family, however, now there is nobody to stop/keep an eye on theses single psychos to prevent them to harm people.
In the future, there will be tragical correlation between single households and violent loonie attacks and consequences in this society.
socrateos
Everytime this type of things happens, I am totally lost. Isn't it a human instinct wanting to protect young children when one sees them? No? Why hurt them? Why?
PTownsend
Fully agree. It's doubtful anyone can predict them.
And fully agree Japan's MUCH safer than the US (though that's a pretty low bar comparison) mostly because Japan has tough gun laws.
sensei258
I can't imagine the pain of having sent your little girl off to school and then getting that call. May the families be comforted
sensei258
That bastard just wanted to cause as much pain and suffering as he could
sensei258
Coward
papigiulio
Everything has already been said. Absolute tragedy. My heart goes out to all the victims and families, what a dark day. sigh.
pointofview
Lotsa knife stabbings here. Wow!
redelmotalking
There is nothing more vile in this world than harming children. We are all responsible for their welfare, and adults have no greater responsibility than to protect them. I cannot imagine how these parents are feeling, especially the mother and father that said goodbye forever to their daughter at their door, only a few hours ago. Life is full of unexpected events. We never know what is next.
sensei258
A thumbs-down on calling the guy a coward? Really?
stormcrow
Thoughts, prayers and condolences to the parents, especially to those of the little girl who died.
R.I.P.
KariHaruka
Absolutely heartbreaking! My thoughts are with the victims of this disgusting crime. Who the hell targets young children?! My feelings right now are mixed full of sadness and anger.
And it might be a drastic action but this has made me and my wife reevaluate how our elementary aged daughters are getting to and from school and we've decided that for the foreseeable future we'll be taking them ourselves. We're aware and thankful that incidents like this are rare here in Japan, but its shaken the both of us massively. Especially as my youngest is only 1 year younger than the poor girl who was murdered :(
PTownsend
Many stabbings seem to be reported here as well as many other places around the world.
Statistics are readily available for murders when guns are used; not many for knife attacks, at least that I'm aware of.
The link below gives info on per capita murder rates by country. Russia is 9th. China 12th. The US 14th. Japan 86th.
https://www.nationmaster.com/country-info/stats/Crime/Violent-crime/Murder-rate
I feel safer in Japan than I do just about anywhere else in the world. Still, as an American who's lived in some rough places I'm always on alert.
shogun36
Amusing, all these thumbs down for comments that talk negatively about the killer. Sad.
Honestly I hope the families of the murdered victims can some how find some eventual peace from all of this. My heart goes out to those people.
itsonlyrocknroll
Sincere condolences to the families of the victims. Children and parents travelling to school for heavens sake.
Alex Einz
mental hospitals are needed for people that have chance of recovery, murderous ones should be just put down like you put a rabid dog down.. no need wasting money or resources on them.
Muhammed Imran Qamer
all my sypathies with them may RIP
Drako
This is so sad. My Wife and I have decided our Children will not be walking alone to School or Home. You can bet your Butt if I am around and anything like this happens, I am going to take down the person that has a weapon, or I am going to be leaving this world trying! The least I could do is cause a distraction so people can get away! I am American, ex military, so I am not a passive person. I won't just stand around and watch people get injured. You can bet your butt I will be whopping that ****.
smithinjapan
bass4funk: "they’ll use anything and whether it’s a knife or a gun you will never eliminate attacks by mentally disturbed people,"
Just knew a gun-nutter would come on and try to justify gun-ownership because a person killed and injured others with knives. Fact remains, knives serve purposes beyond killing. Guns don't. Another fact remains, he could have done FAR more damage if he had had guns, probably killing them all and then a few dozen besides.
"but you can minimize the risk with proper care and observation."
You don't even believe this should be done with guns, my friend. How sad that you have to come on this thread to push your politics.
Anyway, what a coward this man was. He should have taken himself out, plain and simple, if he was so fed up with life. Only true cowards take out others first and then themselves because they know they don't want to deal with the consequences. I hope the injured recover, and RIP to those lost besides the suspect.
u_s__reamer
This isn't the first time children have been victims of an indiscriminate knife attack. In the previous massacre there were even more victims. The perpetrator killed because he wanted to be executed and the state granted him his wish. Modern societies have sizeable budgets set aside for foreign terrorism. The Japanese government needs to dip into its deep pockets to come up with more money for mental health and for measures to help people struggling with poverty and unemployment, all of which have a correlation with crimes of violence committed by angry, frustrated individuals.
Brian Wheway
IF this was a school bus with a driver, I would of thought that a man ( possibly a stranger) getting onto a school bus would seem rather odd, if so why didn't the driver ask to see who he was and why was he on the school bus. I really hope the rest of the children make a fun recovery, this is going to leave some not only physical scars but mental ones to.
darknuts
Irrelevant argument. Both are commonly used to kill. Period.
And yet there are plenty of shootings where less people are hurt or killed. One happened recently with only one fatality. Probably because people run when they hear gunfire.
The basic argument remains. Even in a society with no guns, people will find a way to hurt others. The solution to this problem is not remove the tools by with people hurt each other. It's to fix the fact that people want to hurt each other in first place.
Nobnaga
what with the stabbing these days ? that really scary hope everyone stay safe in japan
Thunderbird2
Problem with knife attacks is that, unlike guns, anyone can walk into a shop and buy knives - cooking knives, hunting knives, etc... Just like anywhere else in the world, a total nutjob can walk into his nearest ASDA (insert your own supermarket), buy a carving knife and go on a rampage... there's not a lot can be done about it.
On the mental health issue, unless the person is reported or taken to their local GP for an appointment the signs won't be picked up. Unless they realise they are ill they're hardly likely to volunteer to see a doctor.
I hope the injured girls recover - their emotional care needs priority once their physical wounds have healed. This is where Japan needs to change - people need to drop the stoicism, and society needs to recognise that there are a lot of people living on their ragged nerves. If not, more incidents like this will happen.
On a plus note, the murderer is dead.
Strangerland
And the fact remains, that if you analyze the statistics, way less people die in these instances overall when there are no guns available. Add that to the fact that it's impossible to calculate how many attacks DONT happen as a result of not having access to guns.
One thing a study recently found was that the majority of suicides and suicide attempts with guns were by people who were proud, strong gun owners, who in a moment of depression used that tool because it was there.
The solution is to not do something that can be done, and instead to fix something that is impossible to fix.
Yeah, that sounds real brilliant. We should also figure out a way whereby after eating our cake, we still have it, so that we can have our cake and eat it too! Yay!
Steve Martin
I live about a 10 minute walk from Noborito station. I did not suspect anything out of the ordinary until the sound of about 6 helicopters circling overhead roused me out of my apartment. The news came as more of a shock than a surprise. I will say this though ... these random stabbings are not as random as one would suspect.
I have lived here for 36 consecutive years, and till remember the Kato-Akihabara massacre. What was the fix resulting in a ‘no more Akihabara’ incident? The show of political bravery in banning fixed blades knives of a certain length … unless you are a cook, fisherman, etc. And what was the result? The even more horrific Sagamihara killing.
One thread that connects them with my observations of life in this 'Straight Jacket Society' (coined by psychologist Masao Miyamoto) is that the outbursts seem to be a natural consequence of what happens when a small-community culture with empathy-driven morality is artificially (top-down) manipulated by a small oligarchy into being an alienated, disposable work force for large-scale, industrialized, 'modern' society. The book, 'Mirror of Modernity' by Slavos gives some good examples of how the Meiji-era government actually concocted some of the ancient traditions, such as corporate-worker 'wa' (harmony) out of thin air as a means of coercion.
Sure, there will always be a small percentage of any population who are either born with, or develop, ‘dark triad’ personality traits of narcissism, machiavellian opportunism, and psychopathy. Even chimpanzees and dolphins are know to commit infanticide. But hierarchical authoritarian cultural norms only magnify the probability among us humans.
These killers do NOT exist in a social vacuum.
To repeat, the killer at Noborito station, like other perpetrators of random violence, do not live in a social vacuum, and by inference, do not live in a linguistic vacuum.
A couple of linguistic points that support the above opinion about the consequences:
The word ‘kojin’ (individual) did not exist until a couple of hundred years ago, as individuals were defined by relationships. The word was coined to translate a book by the French Enlightenment thinker Jean-Jacques Rousseau, in which moral autonomy, and therefore individual choice, was paramount. This information emerged as one of the responses to the Kato-Akihabara slayings.
The other linguistic hint came from a discussion with a friend, a rare ‘female’ katcho of human resources for a major insurance company, about a short article appearing in the JAF magazine (for car owners) stating that the word ‘shakaijin’ (citizen) is also only a couple of hundred years old at most. The Japanese writer of the article pointed this out because if the word is so new, then so are the concepts of the responsibilities and rights of citizenship … and THAT is a problem.
Japan has a long history of small-town values, including the empathy necessary for social primates to help each other in times of need. But Japan has a very short, and stunted history of what I consider the other side of the coin for what it means to be a mature citizen … holding authority accountable.
If one looks at other recent news, one can’t help but to see the oligarchs of modern Japan have done a very good job of culturally embedding a sense of compliance to authority, whether such respect is deserving or not.
Just a guess, but I am guessing there is a thin line between run-of-the-mill suicide, which some comments suggested as a 'braver' alternative to murder-suicide, and today’s news.
More important, how to predict and prevent the next random killing.
My modest suggestion is to look at where the next ‘madman’ is likely to come from, and shore up those weak links in society.
The widening wealth gap is enlarging the class of alienated working poor, but it is the new immigrant labor force who are bearing the brunt of socio-psychological damage — with recent JapanToday news pointing out how little support those immigrants will be given to help integrate with Japanese society.
And if or when the next random killing is by a foreigner, the public response and political spin is almost as predictable.
Will take that 10 minute walk to the station tomorrow to lay my flower — for all the good it will do.
Bugle Boy of Company B
Thunderbird2
I saw that and realised it was a typo... I seriously doubt they meant have 'a fun recovery'.
Chip Star
It's repugnant that anyone is engaging in the knives are equivalent to firearms nonsense.
And, for those calling for insane asylums to be brought back, they haven't gone anywhere, they're called psychiatric wards now.
Bugle Boy of Company B
I recommend this Facebook Group.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/201172680432640/
Alex Einz
i am personally interested why attacker is not named, and there is zero information about him except man in 50th ...
1glenn
Decent people the world over are outraged.
Bill Adams
This is just too sad for words.
My heart goes out to all the families involved.
Fortunately this madman is now dead and this type of incident is exceptional.
So now let's just mourn these poor children.
Matt Olund
It really is too bad that the man who did it will never see justice served, because he took his own life first.
David Wilson
My wife and I are very saddened by the this story. Japan is our second home having travelled their 16 times from Australia and we have Japanese family with small children who live very close to where this all occurred.Our hearts as do the hearts of all Australians go out to the victims and their families for this horrific situation. Japan is a beautiful country with lovely people, a great culture that always come back from situations like this.
Haaa Nemui
Agreed. It's probably for the better of society at large but it really doesn't seem fair. Coward's way out.
Ma. Luisa Brozo Shiota
I am so sorry for the victims and the lost of two people. May they rest in peace!!!
Cortes Elijah
クリオ登戸新町、〒214-0013 Kanagawa, Kawasaki, Tama-ku, Noboritoshinmachi, 382-3 is the location it took place.
It appears that the children were around 25m from the bus stop when it happened. A completely shocking attack in such a peaceful looking place.
No matter what happened to the person that attacked them as a child, he had no right to attack innocents.
He took the easy way out with a stab to the neck as the media says, sadly the pain for those who survived will be greater and I hope that there is real support and repair for them.
This all comes down to failure of a society.
Braze
Really not my intention to use a straw man here and I don't believe I am, but anyone living anywhere in the Western world should notice something is seriously wrong everywhere. So what exactly is it? What connection does it have with every place that's having mass murders, and tyrannical States trying to control everybody? Why are we seeing more crazy people almost everywhere on the face of the planet, especially in North America, Europe and yes even Japan, perhaps we can't leave out anyplace, even in China they've had rampaging knife welding crazies.
Murder, knives that are longer than 6cm are illegal, so the nut job broke 2 laws at least, probably more, so more laws is not going to correct the problem, already Japanese people have almost nothing to defend themselves with if attacked by a nut with a 30 cm blade in both hands, the rampage took all of 20 seconds, if he'd been there for 20 minutes he could have broken some kind of demented record for mass murder. The only good thing about it in Japan is, people are talking about mental health not the weapon of choice which really is a straw man and will correct nothing obviously. Already if you have a swiss army knife to slice your apple or open your wine, open your can of peaches or clean your fingernails, they'll stop you in Japan if they find it and ask what are you doing with this, and do not try to board an airplane with one in your carry on, one nut can ruin your day in more ways than you can possibly imagine.
Wolfpack
The violent efficiency of this man is unbelievable. That is a lot of casualties by one person in a very short period of time all with just knives.