crime

Man stabbed while walking along street in Hyogo

53 Comments

Police in Nishinomiya City, Hyogo Prefecture, have arrested a man who stabbed another man with a knife as he walked along a street on Tuesday night.

The suspect, who is in his 20s, was arrested early Wednesday after being identified from surveillance camera footage, Kyodo News reported. A blood-stained knife was found in his possession.

According to police, the incident occurred at around 9:50 p.m. Tuesday. Police said a witness called 110 and said that one man was chasing another after being attacked and that there was “a pool of blood” nearby. 

The victim, who is in his 50s, was stabbed multiple times in the abdomen. Police said Wednesday he was in a critical condition but conscious. He told police he did not know the man who stabbed him.

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53 Comments
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This is disturbing. How on earth is this occurring in Japan, the land of Shintoism, Buddhism, Godzilla,etc which is a Pacifist nation. I thought Japan like Mainland China and Taiwan is among the safest countries.

-22 ( +5 / -27 )

I was out walking the streets in Kobe yesterday and this morning..

I hope that it isn’t a trend…

5 ( +10 / -5 )

Again? We had three of these random stabbings just last week (twice in Kawaguchi (Saitama) and once in Yokohama). This is occurring far too frequently.

1 ( +10 / -9 )

I believe Japan is still a safe country but this is a very worrying trend. Barely a day goes by now when we don't hear about a random stabbing. I hope this man recovers.

11 ( +14 / -3 )

Another random stabbing, and this time on the street in the famous "bed town" of Nishinomiya. Japan is a scary place.

-7 ( +6 / -13 )

At least the attacker has been arrested and detained. Nishinomiya is a quiet city usually.

10 ( +10 / -0 )

What goes on in the minds of these people who go around Japan knifing individuals randomly?

This can't be good for the safe Japan image we are constantly fed.

Scary, scary stuff to be sure.

-3 ( +6 / -9 )

nondualism

for someone not living here, you post many comments on crimes, especially sex crimes with claims of underreporting of all crimes.

Living in japan is definitely safer than any other G7 country.

2 ( +10 / -8 )

Hyogo Prefecture is getting more and more dangerous.

1 ( +6 / -5 )

Do tourists need to be concerned????

4 ( +7 / -3 )

Nishinomiya is good for the Sakura, beach, and shopping.

-6 ( +2 / -8 )

The victim, who is in his 50s, was stabbed multiple times in the abdomen. He told police he did not know the man who stabbed him.

This is very scary. Because of the "copycat minded" people here. This crime setms from the string of random knife attacks on innocent people this week. Which was followed by the stabbing of the woman in Fukuoka in a public place a few weeks ago (I know, it wasn't a random act) and the list can go on throughout. Although "copycat minded" people can be in any country, I am mainly speaking for Japan. I hope the Japanese lawmakers put their foot down to stop these random acts of violence on innocent people before it gets out of hand. I mean....what's to stop some nutter from targeting kids?

2 ( +5 / -3 )

Copycat

3 ( +4 / -1 )

RKL

Hyogo Prefecture is getting more and more dangerous.

what is your comment based on?

2 ( +5 / -3 )

nondualism

from my personal experience of living in many European countries and America, I cannot agree with your opinion that Japan is more unsafe than those. I think you and your wife suffer from unfounded paranoia.

2 ( +5 / -3 )

I realised that in Japan, there is a dangerous and false sense of safety that I am personally invested in seeing improve as we hope to bring our children to Japan within a few years. Right now, Japan is far too unsafe for children and women compared to most Western nations.

It's not. You have an irrational fear. Japan is one of the safest nations on the planet. I understand you feel it's more dangerous, and you are free to feel however you want, but you are trying to convince others to evaluate Japan based on your feelings of fear, rather than objectively on the real facts of the nation.

12 ( +14 / -2 )

I'm telling you guys, it's dangerous nowadays in Japan.

It's not.

7 ( +10 / -3 )

Most of the crimes in Japan are between family members and friends with this news being an exception. So if you don’t have family and friends while in Japan, it’s still a safe place. Crime rates between strangers are relatively low.

-5 ( +1 / -6 )

The scariest part in all this is that there is no notion of "self-defense" in Japan.

Someone tries to stab me, I stab him back and wait for the police, and then I go to jail.

0 ( +8 / -8 )

nondualism

Agree 100%

-3 ( +1 / -4 )

“Lara FlintToday  09:12 am JST

I'm telling you guys, it's dangerous nowadays in Japan.

I always look around when I'm out and don't like to be followed, when someone is behind me I usually stop and pretend to check my phone or step aside and pretend to check vending machine etc.

Remember when in Japan, always be aware of surroundings.”

Roy SophveasonToday  08:41 am JST

Do tourists need to be concerned????

Yes, if as a random tourist you find yourself in Nishinomiya you should probably be concerned -- mainly with the question "why am I here?".

The above being stated, is Japan still safe for tourists or should they go somewhere else in the Far East such as China or Taiwan instead???

I thought we are in Japan, one of the safest countries in the world?!?!?! Shouldn’t Japan like China or Taiwan be one of the few countries where regardless of gender we do NOT have to look over our shoulders and carry mace. Japan is a first world country and not a corrupt third world country such as Somalia or Haiti. This is disconcerting and I hope whatever issue that is occurring gets resolved immediately so tourists and residents can go back to the way Japan was in the 1980s.

-3 ( +2 / -5 )

Any developed nation is heaven compared to the US. :)

Not even sure if I'd call the US developed anymore.

Their health care is below third world levels. Their public schools look no different than the public schools I saw when I lived in Egypt- worn down, grubby, and shoddy. AND on top of that almost no gun control.

-3 ( +5 / -8 )

The scariest part in all this is that there is no notion of "self-defense" in Japan.

Someone tries to stab me, I stab him back and wait for the police, and then I go to jail.

agree 100%. Had a friend who was jumped by 3 guys, and he made quick work of them only to be arrested and detained for 3 days all because he was a foreigner.

-6 ( +2 / -8 )

If we have an irrational fear that by your accounts we would be more afraid to live here in NZ or the UK. But we feel far safer here with children.

Huh? You do have an irrational fear, so the above is a non sequitur.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

nondualism

Yes, violent crime is worse in London. I'm not talking about violent crime though. I'm talking about crimes against women and children.

I posted a comment about crimes against women and children on the streets of London. Did you miss that? London is the stabbing capital of the world. Acid attacks against women. Do I need to remain you of what the church did to little children?

I have more concerns about my son and his family with two teenagers living in London.

We should always have concerns about our safety and that of our family but they must be kept in perspective otherwise they will develop into unfounded fears which it seems you suffer from.

2 ( +4 / -2 )

Yes, violent crime is worse in London. I'm not talking about violent crime though. I'm talking about crimes against women and children.

Japan is particularly safe even for women and children.

We understand you feel otherwise, but actual research has shown you're actually wrong.

5 ( +5 / -0 )

agree 100%. Had a friend who was jumped by 3 guys, and he made quick work of them only to be arrested and detained for 3 days all because he was a foreigner.

Exactly! I have the littlest concern of suffering any form of violence etc. here, honestly I think a japanese mugger would think 3x before trying something on an "unpredictable" white foreigner.

I've worked multiple times for the police and immigration, and my biggest fear here is to get involved with law.

In such a place like this, if I ever see someone assaulting a stranger in the street, I'd rather get away from the scene, Western common sense doesnt apply here and I can't risk losing my family and whole life in Japan for no reason at all.

4 ( +12 / -8 )

Jesus Christ, if Japan is dangerous I wonder where you'd be safe. Mars?

Lots of chikan and groping in those disgusting packed trains and umbrellas/bicycles theft, but that's pretty much it.

I can drive by 1am around virtually any capital/bed town in Japan and I find many women walking alone after getting off the last train. If this is not a sign of safety for you, then please take your meds.

Main point here is that we have all sorts of people commenting here, literally, all sorts of people. You never know what kind of individual you're "debating" with.

5 ( +11 / -6 )

nondualism

"We base our 'fear' on personal experiences and those of our family, friends, and acquaintances. Also, personal research, including investigative journalism and academic papers, news reports and awareness of how crime happens in Japan, how it is (or is not) reported, and how it is portrayed in the Japanese media by politicians and Japanese people. There is also a major issue with a lack of transparency in Japan, so it's tough to know what is going on only from the media and government. Here in NZ the contrast could not be starker as regards these things."

Do you understand that behavior is not normal and no sensible person studies it that much? Is that because of your ADHD?

1 ( +4 / -3 )

RKL

There's no safe space in Hyogo prefecture

that shows you have never been to Hyogo. The biggest crime in our location is someone not cleaning up their dog mess. Hyogo is a large prefecture with 5 million people and two sea coasts.

Just in case the situation worsens I have my fishing boat ready and packed to go in the local marina. Escape to the smaller islands across the way.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

I think the scary part about it is that your normal nut radar often doesn't seem to work in Japan. The ones who commit random acts of nuttiness don't seem that out of place in the crowd.

-2 ( +3 / -5 )

Did your friend defend himself from them, or did he beat the crap out of them?

Should it matter? If 3 guys jump you, you have the right to beat the crap out of them. You don't know to what extent they are willing to go, whether or not they are armed, whether or not they have more friends waiting in the shadows..etc.

I wasn't there, but he did say that they were not badly injured. None of them had injuries that required a trip to the hospital.

But that's not the point. He was walking home, got jumped out of the blue, defended himself and got arrested.

-2 ( +2 / -4 )

Japan is definitely trending to the less safe side of the spectrum compared to before.

-1 ( +3 / -4 )

In order for it to be self-defence, in Japan, yes. If someone attacks you and you knock them over, well done.

Yes. If someone. The key being one. You have 3 guys. Knock one down. By the time you've finished knocking the 3rd one down the 1st has gotten up again. Not so simple. It's easy to walk away from a confrontation when its 1 person, but 3 on 1 isn't quite so easy, as I'm sure you know.

-2 ( +2 / -4 )

Yes, if as a random tourist you find yourself in Nishinomiya you should probably be concerned -- mainly with the question "why am I here?".

甲子園。以上。

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

You make a good point, and it's clearly a different kettle of fish. Your friend is just lucky he had the skills to deal with it. If it were me, I'd get outside of them and bail.

Sorry, I missed that part of your post. We are on the same page here.

Yes. Because to the arriving police, there was a guy standing over three injured people whose stories, I'm guessing, all corroborated each other, and it was three against one.

I don't know the exact details but they were fine enough to talk to the cops and I'm sure you're right. They had planned their stories before the incident. They were smooth about it.

They have to get the facts straight. But three days? That does seem excessive.

Nothing seems excessive to me with the police here.

-5 ( +0 / -5 )

I don't care where I am or how safe people say a place is supposed to be so I am always on alert. Look at the family of 3 killed by that wacko a few weeks back. I bet they thought Japan was probably the safest place in the world up to them being harassed and then murdered. I have had many, and yes, I wrote many, instances of people paying way too much attention to me because I am not Japanese. Several time the cops got called, once the train line got completely stopped and several times fists have flown too. There's always some random wacko out there wanting to hurt someone for whatever reason. Japan may be safe but things happens here just like in the rest of the world. Not falling for that 'You can walk down the street at night without worrying' refrain is your best bet.

-2 ( +4 / -6 )

Late for the party. People here talk waaaay too much about things they have no clue about.

I've seen. People in cuffs. For defending themselves against obvious street rats.

I've waived. Goodbye to english teachers flying home after a few weeks locked in jail for nothing only to find their whole life has been terminated, they were all in disgust, promising themselves to never set foot in Japan ever again.

The only safe way you can protect yourself from a stabber in this place is to run for your life.

You can only protect other people against natural hazards, someone drowning, even animal x person etc. but can't do anything when its person x person.

This is no joke. If you dont understand that, chances will be very high you'll face problems in Japan within a few years, regardless of how majime law abiding foreigner you are.

2 ( +8 / -6 )

The first thing a group will do is try to surround you. Don't let them. If they manage it, choose the smallest, weakest looking one and charge them. Then keep going.

If you vanish from here I will know the reason.

How long are you here again? Do you speak japanese? Haven't you realized yet?

This is one of the few places in the world (if not the only one) where the bad guys assault you first and the next moment they threat you to call the police! Doesnt matter if you are wearing a suit and the guys are wearing bousozoku outfit, the outcome has been already decided when the cops come.

I could ask you to take care but I guess its more important for you to show off to us just how smart you are.

2 ( +8 / -6 )

Jesus Christ, if Japan is dangerous I wonder where you'd be safe. Mars?

The premise of some of the posters here is that NOWHERE on earth is safe. Which, if you are looking at it with that baseline, Japan wouldn't seem safe. But it's irrational fear.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

What research?

There is plenty of data showing Japan to be among the safest nations on the planet. I post it here regularly. The amount of crime in a country is not some secret number, it's posted publicly .

1 ( +2 / -1 )

agree 100%. Had a friend who was jumped by 3 guys, and he made quick work of them only to be arrested and detained for 3 days all because he was a foreigner.

Is this a real story?

0 ( +1 / -1 )

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