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© KYODOKenyan Olympic marathon medalist referred to prosecutors over assault
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dagon
Mr. Wainaina seems a bit more forthcoming and contrite than the usual users of this excuse around these parts.
Fighto!
Japan does not need violent visitors, assaulting young women and JR staff.
If Wainana is found guilty - he has already admitted to the assaults- he needs to be deported and permanently banned from visiting Japan.
I feel sorry for the next country he visits.
Yubaru
Japan doesnt need violent Japanese either. And I guarantee you that there are probably a thousand times MORE Japanese that are guilty than foreign residents,
Oh right, you missed something here Wainaina is a resident here, not a visitor, and he should be treated the same as any resident here.
Fighto!
And? You do understand foreign residents of Japan - "PR" or otherwise - can be deported for serious crimes?
I would call assaulting two innocent people a serious and violent crime. Japan is not the place for this Wainana.
Mocheake
The guy owned up to it, which, as Yubaru wrote, is way more than the vast majority of locals we read about usually do. It's not something you need to deport someone for. We know how much you defend and love any and everything Japan, but it's not any more special than anywhere else in the world and deportation for this would be way too harsh.
Nicolò
This proves that people become forgetful living in Japan, not only politicians.
sakurasuki
When in Japan, do as Japanese do. He didn't said, I didn't remember a thing
Like Japanese when do stupid things while drunk
WatanabeBuddha
China will probably give him asylum if he runs 10 seconds slower than the Chinese athletes.
dan
@Fighto deport him ?
He didn't kill anyone or cause grievous bodily harm!
A fine and some community service or a caution for assault yes .... deportation? No don't be utterly ridiculous!!
Btw most politicians here that have been charged with serious fraud, bribery and embezzlement just get away with a bow and a 'moshiwake gozaimasen deshita' so please stop with your constant gaijin bashing .
Gaijinjland
He’s contrite and composed because he wasn’t arrested and wasn’t in police custody and probably had good advice from a lawyer before voluntarily being questioned. Being referred to prosecutors doesn’t mean they will take any action so long as there is a contrite apology.
Blacksamurai
I don't know why people are excusing this dude by talking about Japanese people doing the same - Wainana assaulted a young woman under 20 and then assaulted a station worker who correctly tried to intervene. The dude is way out of line.
I believe he is also not a citizen of Japan - think he's got PR. He needs to watch his behavior because the Japanese regard PR and other residency as a privilege that can be taken away much more easily than in western countries for criminal behavior. Wainana is a bully regardless of how much he was drinking - people who assault others after drinking or supposedly drinking alcohol are revealing something about their character and it isn't good.
There are harsher penalties now for people in Japan who assault station and other essential service workers and this clown should feel the force of them.
Fighto!
100%. Why should Japan - or ANY nation - tolerate people who come and commit crimes of violence?
But we seem to be the outliers here : most seem to think multiple assaults on others- including a teenage girl- are acceptable if the perpetrator apologises.
Blacksamurai
Interesting - had 2 upvotes but suddenly they've disappeared. Downvoting doesn't change the original up votes just the score so whoever's tampering needs to get their grown person act up.
LOL at some being threatened by posters pointing out that this foreigner dude assaulted a young woman and then a station worker and he deserves to be penalized for the severity of it. Hopefully the authorities don't believe like some here in the 'Gaijin Pass@.
Fighto!
@ BlackSamurai - Unfortunately there are quite a few on here who believe its OK to be a guest in a foreign country, get off your face, and then physically attack innocent teenage girls and train staff. And that an apology makes it all OK, with no need to be removed from the host nation.
And, sadly, that sentiment doesn't surprise me.
rzadigi
The young girl may not have been as innocent as her defenders believe. If she was grabbing this man to keep him from leaving then she went too far. Especially if she was just upset about him using a phone on the train. That is hardly something worth holding him in the station and calling the police.
Of course any violence is not acceptable but the girl seems to have been provoking him and escalating the situation. If this was a Japanese man it would surely not be a news story.
Let him do some community service and continue living in Japan.
リッチ
So she put her hands on him first and he gets prosecuted. She’s the one who touched him first and that’s considered assault. She’s not the police and has no right to do it so she should be charged as well.
Fighto!
So, I guess it seems that the JR Staff was also "provoking" this Kenyan man and "escalating the situation" enough to get assaulted and injured?
Rationalizing violence - partucularly against teenage girls - is never a good look.
Violent acts in your country may well attract light (or even no) punishment. Japan, however, takes a dim view of guests in their country acting violently.
justasking
Oh my green child, using a phone in the train is not illegal nor against the rules. You're lucky you only got a slap. There are crazier people out there.
Yubaru
And do you realize you had no idea about what you were talking about in the post I quoted you in? He isnt a "visitor" and is a resident, different guidelines apply.
FYI, slapping someone is hardly a "serious crime"
Read the article about the "seriousness" of the alleged crime. If you think that this is serious enough to deport him, then I would say it MUST be safe to assume that you believe that Japanese who commit the same level of crime should be put in jail for life too.
The "crime" is a minor assault.
Yubaru
You have a warped sense of what justice is or should be.
robert maes
I know Mr Wainaina from his athlete days. He has been living in Japan most of his life.
I would describe him as a nice, polite man. He made a mistake. He owes up to it.
Mr Wainaina will apologize and more so, he will mean it.
Sending him away from Japan for this clear mistake will make Japan a poorer nation.
Mocheake
I don't think you know what you're talking about and if you put your hands on someone, the other person is well within their rights to stop you from touching them. If it were a Japanese in America, the crime would be recognized for what it is - VERY minor - and it wouldn't make national headlines. The main reason it did make headlines is because of what Joe Biden said a few days ago about the general nature of this country. In the United States, none of the citizens would be talking about deporting anyone.
TokyoLiving
Foreigners must obey the Japanese law and behave well..
Gene Hennigh
Mocheake -- They got into a fight on a train. We don't know but that he might have started the contact. It's possible though the article doesn't say so. Oh, and I love Japan and Japanese things. I worked there, I lived there, I loved it there, and it's one of the reasons I come to this "Japan Today" site. Why do you come here? Fighto! Does make a good point although he often overdoes it. How is his liking Japan an argumentative point?
The event happened and even if she touched him first (maybe) his drunken reaction is actionable.
toolonggone
Who was using the phone? Was Wainaina angry that the woman was on the phone or was the woman angry that Wainaina was on the phone? It seems kind of relevant to the story but regardless, as others have pointed out, being on the phone whilst on the train is not a crime.
How did she try to stop him? Depending on her method, wouldn't that also possibly be considered assault? If someone got physical with me to try and stop me from walking away, I might well slap them in self-defence.
Probably should have stopped with the first slap.
Shadows of the Rising Sun
We don't know the situation, but if it's true he hit someone, then that's assault.
However, he may have been provoked - black people are often profiled in Japan, and I can imagine such Japanese Karen being all self-righteous and angry at him for using his phone on the train - I've seen Japanese pick on Chinese people for using their phones even though Japanese do it as well.
Shadows of the Rising Sun
I can't see this in Japanese news - at least it's not a headline so most Japanese would know about it.