Shiga prefectural police have arrested a 22-year-old man on suspicion of assault after he allegedly cut the hair of a female passenger on an express bus.
Police said the unnamed suspect, a company employee who lives in Anjo, Aichi Prefecture, has admitted to the allegation, and quoted him as saying “The woman had my favorite type of hair."
The incident occurred between 11 p.m. on Sept 8 and 4 a.m. the next day on an express bus traveling from Kitakyushu to Nishinomiya in Hyogo Prefecture. During the journey, the 31-year-old woman, who works as a nurse in Nagoya, had 20 centimeters of her hair cut off with a pair of scissors. The male suspect was sitting behind her.
Police said he snipped the woman’s hair three times while she was asleep and placed the hair in a plastic bag. When the woman realized that her hair had been cut, she immediately notified the bus driver who informed the bus company of the assault.
The bus company then contacted the police, who were waiting to arrest the male suspect at Tsuchiyama in Koka City, Shiga Prefecture.
© Japan Today
30 Comments
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Vince Black
It starts out with cutting hair then escalates to actually cutting their body. Creeps like this need to be locked up now before they murder someone
oldman_13
Creepy guys are sure in abundance on public transportation there.
Bugle Boy of Company B
Well, then I guess it’s okay!
Creeeeeeeeepyyyyyy!
Disillusioned
Wow! Is this a mental health issue or a cultural health issue? There's no shortage of these creepy guys in Japan.
commanteer
Supporting evidence to that claim?
Sometimes a fetish is just a fetish. Of course, he deserved to be arrested - but speculation that he is an incipient psychopath is not necessary or helpful.
papigiulio
20cm. Holy sheesh. What a nutter. Padded room for one please.
Zack
if you've seen "Mindhunter" on Netflix, then you know what this will escalate to
doel jusino
Why is it when someone does something out of the NORMAL people (Disillusioned) jump to it's a MENTAL HEALTH ISSUE. How about if we forget the MENTAL HEALTH ISSUE nonsense, just cause you cut some strangers hair off does not mean you have a mental health issue. This guy did something that a regular guy would not do. He noticed some nice hair and acted on an impulse to cut some off. We are all human and we have all done some things that afterwards we thought "I shouldn't have done that" so forget that MENTAL HEALTH ISSUE nonsense.
WilliB
Err.... OK. So that makes it OK to cut it off? Good grief, these excuses.
spektral
favorite type of hair or favorite hairstyle/dye? I haven't really seen so much of a hair-type variety here to get so fixated...
also wonder what he does...maybe he has a giant furball at home xD
sir_bentley28
Geez! What a massive jump to conclusions here! What evidence or proof do you have to substantiate these accusations?
noypikantoku
creepy! But this is the funny thing about Japan, they arrest these people but at the same time does nothing about fueling these creepy fetishes, just look around the trains, sometimes you will see hanging tabloids sexualizing children and high school girls. And the Adult Industry isn't regulated much, and these are the kick starters of these creepy thoughts.
Luddite
I'm not judging his fetish, but if your fetish means you need to involve non-consenting people to satisfy yourself you should charged with sexual assault.
Fendy
Obviously this connoisseur of the very best of hair couldn’t help himself.
smithinjapan
What's with these freaks? Put this guy in an institution before the serial killer emerges.
garypen
Yes. He physically assaulted a person on a bus, and removed a part of her body. You don't need to be Sigmund Freud to make the connection.
A fetish? A fetish? That's between two consenting adults. What he did went far beyond "fetish" into the realm of mental instability.
garypen
Ummmm. What? Of course it does.
garypen
Why are people defending this obviously mentally unstable person, and his act of physical assault on a stranger?
commanteer
Nobody is defending his actions. Please point out where, if you think otherwise.
As to why people might defend him, look at the things he is called for having this fetish (which seems to upset many more than the actual crime): freak, creepy, nutter, mentally unstable. These were the exact same words used to describe homosexuals and transgenders until recently. Actually still used in some cases.
So, aside from the obvious case of assault, why does his hair fetish deserve this language? Why is it assumed that some guy with an unusual fetish must necessarily become a serial killer? Should we lock up all "creeps and nutters?" Because they might, you know, become serial killers? Funny, I don't see that sort of reasoning used with actual rapists here. They are just sex criminals. Nobody seems to suggest they will become serial killers in the comments. Cutting hair is worse than rape?
Makes no sense, the emotion in the reactions here.
commanteer
I missed your first comment, doel. Yes, cutting stranger's hair without their consent is a mental health issue. It doesn't mean he is going to do anything worse, much less become a serial killer, but such behavior is anti-social and inappropriate to the degree that it is a mental health issue. Lot's of people have mental health issues - I just wonder why this particular, relatively harmless one, brought out the lynch mob.
juminRhee
noypikantoku:
Posters and tabloids "sxualizing" exists in other countries too (mostly older but analogy holds). Sure there are hair cutters too, but do you suggest that said posters of women cause such? This isnt the puritanical age. Women dont have to cover up to prevent men from acting. The men need to learn self control. We shouldn't have prohibition just because some drinks beat their wives and kids, for example; we just need to arrest and address.
juminRhee
Drunks. Thanks autocorrect
Ganbare Japan!
This man is a real creep. Lock him away for a very long time. Why isnt he named in the story.
Chip Star
Hit the nail on the head. The Japanese also can't figure out why dudes do this type of stuff.
rcch
another weird story involving creepy behavior... unfortunately, as for these Japanese men, they won,t change anytime soon unless Japan changes itself first.
but it,s funny... reading some comments here... it,s almost as if this is gonna end up being in some way, acceptable... i mean, seriously...
a guy that cuts the hair(!!) of a woman against her will is NOT OK, NOT normal in any way. they can,t lock him up for a long time, but i sure would wish they keep an eye on him. and do some kind of therapy.
shogun36
Why was he carrying scissors on a bus?
Dude, if you are that bored on the overnight bus ride, bring a book, an ipad, a nintendo switch, your little Pokemon cards or ANYTHING ELSE to keep you occupied?
I'm surprised they even had males and females on the same side of the bus. I say this because on two separate occasions I was on an overnight bus and they had all the females (non couples) on one side, and all the males (non couples to the other side.) All the couple were in their own area as well. I thought that was a little odd, like it was junior high school or something. But then you read a story like this and you realize why they do such a thing.
BackpackingNepal
For some it's fetish, For some it's creepy and for him and alike, it's their interest or passion or influence.
If locked him, he might become more creepier, if not he will be the same, the two best methods are lock him for life or cut off his fingers.
commanteer
Thank you for your brave stand. Of course, nobody here said otherwise.
WilliB
rcch:
Why the shouting? Everybody here agrees with you.