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A 49-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after he pushed a 46-year-old man off the platform at Nakatsu Station on the Midosuji subway line in Osaka.
According to police, the incident occurred at around 11:30 p.m. on Monday. Police said that before the incident, the suspect, Ryoji Kawano, a company employee from Hyogo Prefecture, and the victim, a company employee from Fukuoka, were aboard the same train and got off at Nakatsu. The two men were not acquainted, police said.
Security camera footage from the platform showed Kawano pushing the other man in the chest. He then toppled onto the train tracks. There were no incoming or outgoing trains at the time at the station which is between Umeda and Shin-Osaka stations.
The victim injured his back in the fall.
Police said reports from other passengers indicated that the two men got into an argument while riding the train and are investigating the details surrounding the altercation. Kawano has denied the charge.
© Japan Today
22 Comments
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papigiulio
Lately that's a daily occurrence here in Osaka and it will only increase.
Luddite
Despite the fact that CCTV saw him do it. I'm sure he will soon claim it was due to being drunk or stressed.
Frank Thornton
If he was drunk, they'll just air the footage of the CCTV on some brainless prime time TV show and the comedians will crack jokes about it and everyone will laugh. The drunk guy is so funny...
Deadforgood
Well, he's done for. Fired at 49 in Japan. Hope he has a decent bankroll and no family to support.
Dango bong
dude its on camera you are going to have to use the I was drunk card on this one
jeancolmar
No Osaka trains are not mellow compared to Tokyo because Osaka people tend to behave like animals on trains.
The only place I have ever been shoved and shoved and shoved by some be speckled office worker was at Osaka Station. The JR personnel watched and did nothing.
These days I have a disability and need a stick. Going out of the train in Osaka Station is a nightmare because a mob will shove and push its way in before all the passengers are out.
There are seats for disabled people that tend to be taken up by punks who act like the disabled person standing next to them does not exist.
I've not been pushed on the tracks yet. But these days I avoid Osaka.
thepersoniamnow
If their was no trains incoming, isn’t a charge of attempted murder jumping to conclusions?
smithinjapan
Hope he isn't quite so argumentative and pushy in prison.
thepersoniamnow
jeancolmar
Sorry, I’m a lifelong Osaka and Kobe kid. We act like animals on the train do we?
You ought to get out and about a little more.
Monozuki
It was lucky! If it was bad timing, he might have gotten hit by a train. Hope he'll get back on his feet ASAP.
descendent
He's denying the charge (of attempted murder), not the push.
mmwkdw
Happens in Tokyo too.
Unamused
Why are you lumping Kobe people in together with Osaka people? They are very different and Jean was only mentioning Osaka specifically. I'd have to agree with him, of all my time in Japan, the only stations I've ever encountered frequent rudeness and overheard outright racist remarks directed towards non-Japanese passengers was in Osaka.
jcapan
I'm with thepersoniamnow. Have been traveling on Kansai trains for more than a decade and while after hours you may encounter your fair share of drunks, some of them belligerent or just plain gross, the experience is generally no different or worse than any other large urban area. And it's certainly far less crowded and stressful than Kanto. But 20 million plus live here. It's not always going to be pleasant. Add alcohol into the mix and well...
This is not to make light of some of the issues Jean raises. I can't imagine braving a crowded urban commute with a disability. And people have gotten worse about not waiting for passengers to get off before boarding.
Aly Rustom
Brother, come to the Tokyo area. We have that in SPADES here too.
I concur wholeheartedly.
obladi
Speaking as a person who has lived in both cities, Tokyo beats Osaka in terms of "cold indifference" (mobs of robotic commuters, unfriendly restaurants) but Osaka might have an edge when it comes to "drunken craziness" (thinking of Tigers fans).
But this article is about one crazy guy who happened to be in Osaka. We can not extrapolate to the whole city based on this...
obladi
Oh, and I might add, some very nice people in both Osaka and Tokyo.
thepersoniamnow
Unamused
Why am I lumping? Dude, first off the statement that Osaka people and Japanese people in general are “animals on trains”....well I can take any of you to task on that debate and win easily.
I am Japanese American, but have lived all over and here, and this place is one of the best mannered countries I’ve seen.
But if you all are that desperate to dish dirt on then OK....what a rowdy animalistic train culture Osaka has!