29-yr-old man held for kicking restaurant customer to death

A similar thing happened last year too.

http://www.japantoday.com/category/crime/view/man-on-trial-for-kicking-customer-to-death-in-ramen-shop

If he were drunk enough not to remember I doubt he would have been able to stand let alone kick.

"the incident occurred at around 7:30 a.m... Matsubayashi was drunk... the victim left the restaurant... Matsubayashi... knocked him down... kicked him in the head... the victim... died of his injuries"

@SenseNotsoCommon - "A similar thing happened last year too"

The fact that this happens so infrequently just shows that Japan is in fact a law-abiding country with a low crime-rate... ;-)

The way the article is worded for a moment I thought the suspect was staff. Is that the case, or was he just another customer? Wouldn't be much of a worker if he's drunk at 7:30 a.m., but it wouldn't totally surprise me as a 24 hour Gyudon shop is not exactly the Hilton.

In any case, a lot of this doesn't add up, lack of details aside. The guy was THAT wasted at 7:30 a.m., but he could still follow a guy outside and land a kick to the head?

RIP to the poor customer who was probably just popping into the dive to grab a quick 'breakfast'. Being drunk is not an excuse, and I hope the suspect has a nice life sentence to think about that. Knowing the justice system here, though, he'll likely just get a few years, if that, given that being drunk is such a standard excuse.

The guy was THAT wasted at 7:30 a.m.

Been there done that, it's not all that unusual really. There are plenty of places, like "Girl's Bars" and such that do not even open until 12 Midnight or even later, places where people who work late at night go to drink.

Got quite a few bars in my neighborhood that close at 9AM.

Matsubayashi was quoted by police as saying he was drunk and can’t remember anything of the incident.

What does one drink that erases memory so well?

A guy being drunk at 7:30 a.m. on a Saturday a.m. is completely plausible. He is 29 years old and this was Ueno. Entirely possible that he worked the night shift somewhere and/or at an establishment that close early hours and then he went out drinking with friends/colleagues and went to get a cheap bowl on the way home.

It is also possible that he really does have a fuzzy memory of what happened. Truly possible. I have seen some really drunk guys do remarkable damage with well placed kicks. Even though very drunk.

However, I do hope that his being drunk does not become a mitigating factor in his trial and whatever sentence he receives. Unfortunately, though, it is highly likely that it will happen. Japanese courts seem to still allow being drunk as a defense and as a factor in giving a reduced sentence. Which isn't quite right.

The guy was THAT wasted at 7:30 a.m.

It is more weird for me eating a beef bowl that early than being drunk.

I serious hope the drunk and dont remember line does not give him any allowances.

What he did was absolutely wrong and a crime but it is not wise to start an argument of any sort with anyone is drunk. They are not in their right senses.

silly excuse of "can't remember."

I don;t know how excuse of drunk work in Japan. In the state I live in USA, people who are arrested try to pretend they are not drunk and breath taking, walking straight line follow. Can;t remember excuse do not work, either.

People are really Spamming the the hell out the "I Was Drunk and Don't remember anything" Line! That line is the biggest insult to everyone's intelligence.

@ Julian Genesis,

I'll have to side with the offended on this one.

I was involved in a similar incident in the UK.

"I was completely drank yet the emotion of fear was overpowering, so, I was sane enough to looked around for the most fragile, frail person I could find, there were many strong 27 year old lads, than, I suddenly found one, he was a 115 year old pensioner, 'even than I thought twice' "can I handle him?" Turns out that I only needed to push him and he fell to his death. It's a pity that I did not have the balls to pick on someone my own age or size."

That's exactly what this guy's thinking.

Another 'no rules generation' punk! What's the bet the old fella only weighed about 50 kilos ringing wet too? I know there are quite a few aggressive and somewhat loopy old fellas around, but to chase one down and kick him in the head is just not on! Lock this punk up with some real thugs and let him learn the error of his ways the hard way.

I am not protecting the violent thug, but without full details its hard to know what went wrong. I know from experience that a lot of Baby boomers ( 63 year old fits there ) are quite rude and lack basic manners so there was definitely a trigger.

@ Richard bHard "What does one drink that erases memory so well?"

Im not sure but its obviously u n i q u e to japan!

I am not protecting the violent thug, but without full details its hard to know what went wrong. I know from experience that a lot of Baby boomers ( 63 year old fits there ) are quite rude and lack basic manners so there was definitely a trigger.

What does this have to do with anything?

Public Service Announcement:

Just remember everybody, anybody too drunk to remember kicking someone in the head and killing them is too drunk to remember someone stabbing them and letting them bleed out in a gutter. Slowly.

If some punk tried this with me, I would put him down and take my chances with the court system. If this kind of stuff happens a few more times, I am thinking that "self defense" will be a good argument in a capital trial. The 63 year old guy, if he had gotten up and finished the drunk off for good, would have earned a medal. Or at least a gyudon on the house.

If some punk tried this with me, I would put him down and take my chances with the court system.

And if some punk tried this with me, I would have won the lottery and the Nobel Peace Prize and been elected President of the Galaxy. It's fun to fantasize about things that have no relation to what actually happened, isn't it?

"It's fun to fantasize about things that have no relation to what actually happened, isn't it?"

No. Not really. Do you do that much? What I get from the article is that a 29 year old guy pushed an old guy down and kicked him to death. If I were the old guy, knowing that I was minutes away from death, I think I could have mustered the energy to knife a stumbling drunk to save my life.

And who knows... if nobody in the restaurant is willing to come and help, they might look the other way as I stumble away from the scene. Would justice then be served?