Police in Tokyo said Monday they have arrested a 33-year-old French man on suspicion of fatally assaulting a 67-year-old man on a street.
According to police, the suspect, who is a company employee, is accused of shoving Akihiko Nogami to the ground at around 1:20 a.m. Sunday in the red-light district of Kabukicho in Shinjuku, Sankei Shimbun reported.
Nogami’s head hit the sidewalk when he fell, resulting in acute subdural hematoma. He was taken to the hospital where he was later confirmed dead.
Police said Nogami had tried to stop the suspect from harassing a female employee of an izakaya (Japanese pub) at the time. He was reportedly restrained by a passerby.
Police said the suspect, who was drunk when arrested, told them he did not know Nogami, and that he had no recollection of the incident.
© Japan Today
28 Comments
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BB
If you find yourself drunk in Kabukicho after midnight it's probably a good idea to skedaddle. This was probably the worst outcome, but lots of other risks, too.
masterblaster
Drunk or not, young or old, a street fight whether a shove or a punch should really be avoided at all costs. This is true for both the aggressor and victim. Some people can take five hard punches and keep smiling at you while another bumps his head on a wall or a curb and goes into a coma or dies. We all aren't built the same.
3RENSHO
Nothing good happens after midnight...particularly in Kabukicho.
Wasabi
Getting into physical altercations with anybody is never a good idea.
Michael Corleone
apparently the name is laforet alexandre mathieu, and the charge has indeed been changed to manslaughter
because sometimes the name is wrong and before you know it there are riots against asylum-seekers...
and tourists!!
Brian Trout
You’re right, Asiaman. Any bright mathematician could calculate the high likelihood of this occurring. And Japan has a lot of bright mathematicians.
virusrex
The guy could get just a scolding and a bruised ego from being rejected by the employee and handled by the victim, instead he is now going to be on trial for at least manslaughter.
Zaphod
travelbangaijin
I see no murder in the description here. Any charge would be manslaughter, not murder.
OssanAmerica
Would you care to explain that comment? The crime occured in Japan where only Japanese law has jurisdiction. Don't see what France will have to do with this, other than maybe send someone from the French Embassy in Tokyo to talk to him.
nandakandamanda
So he was drunk, harrassing a female member of staff, and he killed the person who tried to stop him? That does not look good.
wallace
Alcohol too frequently leads to violence.
Curious George
This is a sad tragedy.
Albert
@Asiaman7
I had to read many times and still I don't understand. Can you share your mathematical resources in this case.
diobrando
Being drunk has consequences, this time its a very sad incident and two life destroyed.
grund
It sounds like there was some bad luck involved as well, seeing that the guy fell and hit his head. And isn't this kind of thing something that happens every now and then wherever people get drunk together? The fact that he is a foreigner is irrelevant isn't it?
Mike_Oxlong
Crazy bad luck for the victim and the French dude. A random event becomes national news. Sad.
Dango bong
1am in Kabukichou not much good happens
M3M3M3
@OssanAmerica
One assumes that Japan should be the only country with jurisdiction in this case, and in practice it will probably be the only country to actually excercise jurisdiction, but travelbangaijin's comment is not entirely absurd.
Under domestic French law, French courts reserve the right to excercise jurisdiction in any case where a perpetrator or even a victim is a French national. So if you assault a French tourist on the streets of Tokyo and the victim is unsatisfied with Japanese police response, a French court could theoretically issue a warrant for your arrest even if you are not French and have never set foot in France. Unsurprisingly, Japan and most other countries do not recognise this broad jurisdiction and it is rarely excercised, but it does exist in France.
To give a real example, there was a controversial case a few years ago where a French court issued an arrest warrant for a Japanese woman involved in a custody battle with a French man because the children being 'abducted' were French citizens. The couple had lived, married, had children, and divorced entirely in Japan under Japanese law.
Antiquesaving
And the prize of not on topic of anti foreign tourists goes to!!!
Suspect not a tourist!
didou
His name was widely mentioned in the Japanese and other countries press.
Not sure why this article does not mention it
NCIS Reruns
Getting into physical altercations with senior citizens is never a good idea.
pudus
"who was drunk when arrested, told them he did not know Nogami, and that he had no recollection of the incident." Well ooops upside the head, say ooops upside da head.
travelbangaijin
If correct, the France can charge him with murder as well
mountainpear
What's his name? Why when foreigners get arrested their name is withheld!
Lindsay
If you are a foreigner it is wise to stay out of Japanese business no matter what the circumstances. This guy is going to spend many years in a Japanese prison. I hope he likes rice.
Whats up Chums?
Good job Japanese people. Lets protect each other from the you know who people.
Asiaman7
This is the consequence of mixing alcohol with a flood of foreign visitors and an active red-light district.
It’s a very unfortunate aftermath, but one that can be mathematically expected and accepted in light of the economic benefits to society.
Unfortunately, those economic benefits outweigh what many might consider to be the disadvantages of this mix.
Jonathan Prin
What is the name of the criminal ?
I have a clue in mind...