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On May 2, police in Chiba Prefecture issued a warning to all residents that a middle-aged man is asking children to play onigokko with him with the threat that if they refuse, he will kill them. Onigokko is a childhood game identical to tag in which one person is the oni who must touch another player so that they then become the oni, the equivalent to being “it” in tag.
Two incidents occurred on April 26 and 27 at around 3:20 p.m. in Narashino City. While a second-grade girl was walking home from school, a man described as in his 30s, average height, average build, and wearing a white hat called out to her.
“Let’s play tag,” he suggested, adding: “If you don’t, I’ll kill you.” However, the suspect seemed to play a version of tag wherein he gave her a head-start by closing his eyes and counting to 20. The girl then seized this opportunity to escape and ran straight home.
On April 28, the student told her parents about the incident and a police report was filed. Narashino police are still on the lookout for the suspect and have stepped up patrols of the area.
Although no one was harmed, readers of the news couldn’t help but be chilled to the bone by it.
“It’s like something from a horror movie.”
“He’s just going to find another child. I hope they catch him soon.”
“That’s so weird, it makes me wonder if the girl didn’t make it up. I hope she did.”
“I wonder what would have happened if she agreed to play.”
The inexplicable nature of the threat is definitely unsettling in that the suspect is suggesting a game of unending pursuit. Even after the girl runs away, there is a lingering possibility that the game is still “on” in the mind of the suspect, who might still be out there stalking her.
But now it is the police who are “it” in this game, and hopefully they can end it before anything truly bad happens.
Source: Zenkoku Anzen-Anshin Mail, Hachima Kiko
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- External Link
- https://soranews24.com/2018/05/05/chiba-police-looking-for-man-threatening-to-kill-kids-who-dont-play-tag-with-him/
13 Comments
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Michael Jackson
Smart girl, glad she got away
Maria
Good grief. Is there* any *evidence for this, or is this just wild speculation on the part of the reporter who perhaps should take a wee break from watching horror movies?
I agree we should be very cautious, and that this person clearly has a problem, but really...
Toasted Heretic
Mental illness and the demonisation of mentally ill people is a problem in Japan. There is no doubt that this man needs help but sinister and sensational reporting from soranews24 doesn't help matters.
Disillusioned
There's nothing to indicate this loon has a mental illness. It is probably just something he read in a manga magazine. (sarcasm)
simon g
I thought the same. Narashino Keisatsu which is identical to a police force are still on the lookout for the Yogisha which is identical to a suspect and have stepped up patrols of the area? Hope they find the creep but suspect it's just a warped sense of humor by some hikikomori -- a term the Japanese Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry uses to define those who haven't left their homes or interacted with others for at least six months.
Goodlucktoyou
so he wants to play tag with children and the police want to play tag with him? Sicko.
ListenTheTruth
Here’s to him being apprehended ASAP.
Tag and onigokko are not identical games, in tag you don’t shout out giving away where you're hiding.
simon g
That's kakurenbo identical to hide & seek except in kakurenbo you shout out giving away where you're hiding.
sir_bentley28
Yeah, I believe this story as much as I believe Trump is a good person.
But is sounds like a good plot for a movie.
Aaron Brummett
This could be a misunderstanding. The game translates into English as "zombie tag"... everyone who is tagged becomes "it"... or a zombie. The point of the game is that it is better to be welcomed by the mass numbers that were one your enemies. This game is not played so much in the major cities... anymore. This could all be a miscommunication!
bones
*speechless:-/