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A police officer fatally shot a 38-year-old unemployed man who was wielding a knife on a street in Toyama City, Toyama Prefecture, on Monday morning.
According to police, the incident occurred at around 3:20 a.m., Sankei Shimbun reported. Police said they received a call from a woman in distress, but the call was cut off. About 10 minutes later, they received another call from the woman's neighbor. The neighbor told police the woman had come to her house, asking her to call 110 because her son was acting violently.
When two police officers arrived at the house, a man, later identified as Yuji Koda, came outside, brandishing a knife. Police said he threatened to stab them and they ordered him twice to drop the knife.
However, Koda refused and kept coming at them, at which point one of the officers, a man in his 60s, fired one shot at Koda, hitting him in the chest. He was taken to hospital where he died 45 minutes after arrival.
© Japan Today
34 Comments
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Addfwyn
Honestly I would probably take the position of this being excessive. All my understanding of Japanese police training is they receive a fair bit of hand to hand combat experience, and more than enough to handle somebody with a knife relatively safely. Maybe they get cut, risk of the job, but nobody needs to die.
Guns should pretty much only be used by law enforcement if somebody has an equal or greater degree of lethal force presented, i.e another gun or explosive device. As those things are pretty unlikely in Japan, so should the use of lethal force from the police.
A knife should never warrant the use of a gun in response.
Tu Hung Lo
The shooting was legit. If he was brazen enough to threaten a police officer with a knife, what did he think was going to happen? Some lessons need to be learned the hard way.
snowymountainhell
Does anyone here know the answers: many police jurisdictions had policies of responding to the location of every 911 call, complaint, misdial, etc., and to ask questions/check the status of any occupants. Are 110 and Japanese police under the same kind of rules of civic responsibility?
If so, why wasn’t their a courtesy visit for first, discontinued call ‘by a woman in distress’ ?
asiafriend
“You’ve got to be putting me on.” Shoot him in the legs? That’s what Biden said to do. But you can be sure that if someone came after Biden that way, or with a gun, his protection detail would shoot to kill and Biden would have no problem with that.
Obviously, you have no experience from the police side of the equation. Split second decisions even after giving verbal warnings. Tasers are not always effective and by the time that happens and the policeman/woman pulls their service weapon, the assailant will already be upon them, with a knife. What about blue lives that put their life on the line to protect the public, people like you? Just imagine if that was in America and a police officer (whether White, Black, Hispanic, Asian, etc.) shot a black man, armed with the knife, the riots that would ensue.
Even more, if shot in the leg, the assailant would sue the police for damages and win millions of dollars because he now will walk with a limp and also his “civil rights” of attacking someone were violated.
William Bjornson
The rule I was taught at 17yo while on guard duty at a Marine Corps ammo dump was "Make sure you kill them or the paperwork will kill YOU." American police practice only one tactic "Two taps to the chest (but their BACK is safer)." And this is what you see them routinely using on people having mental health crises in America. Nor are American police trained regarding 'background' because it is not at all unusual for them to empty their mags while hitting their victim once or twice, if that. Recently, a story mentioned a Black person shot by police where 36 rounds were expended by the shooters to hit the person exclusively in the BACK four times. The people whose personalities lead them to want to ENFORCE are generally not going to have alternative careers in theoretical physics or analytical psychology, and, as we see have a (necessarily?) 'conservative' bent meaning they are just barely educable beyond a certain age (circa 14). 'Some people' might say they are just 'hired thugs' whereas others see them as 'heroes'. Better to see them as individuals with a preference for violent responses which is a major criterion for their employment. But how to balance that with altruistic judgement? Good luck...
bokuda
me not understand.
every single time a japanese cop shoots a civilian, the civilian is conveniently having a knife.
is it ok to reuse the very same alaby every single time?
englisc aspyrgend
Commanteer, isn’t that standard police training?
Agree in so far as we have any facts the police man did the correct thing with what they had. However I am surprised that Japanese police are not equipped with tasers as a non lethal option. Not always effective or the appropriate response but better than having no choice but to use their gun.
commanteer
I agree. If a cop can't shoot a tennis ball in the air while he does a backflip and spins a plate on a chopstick in his left hand, then he shouldn't be allowed to carry a gun.
Paul
There is no point in all of you double guessing what he should have done or could have done, he did what he felt had to be done at the time. One nutter less on the streets, I do not see anything wrong with that.
ulysses
He probably could have shot him in the leg, arm, but then he would have to had exceptional cool and a perfect aim.
Most humans including police are not exceptional, it’s a rare individual who can do extraordinary things.
AustPaul
If I can put my ten cents worth in....
In training Police are taught to aim for the centre of seen mass, ie the torso area. I’m sick of the armchair experts who constantly say ‘Police should have fired a warning shot!’ Or ‘Police should aim for the leg/arm/right index finger etc...
If those of you disagree I invite you to put yourself in a similar, albeit controlled environment and see how you go.
The officer made a judgement call and I’m sure it will be reviewed. None of us were there so we can’t comment on how he should have reacted. Don’t forget this will be with the officer for the rest of his life too.
TheReds
He could have fired a shot to scare him off. Or shoot multiple times at his legs. I am sure one bullet is bound to hit it. Or does he only have one bullet? And 2 policemen could not hit his legs with any one bullet, but were able to kill him with one shot? They are police, totally trained for this. If they panicked that's why had to shoot the chest instead of the leg, then they are no different from a civilian.
Gaijinjland
I can tell you from experience Japanese police, who are trained properly, can take you down in moments without lethal force. Don’t mess with them. In my stupid university days, I got into a drunken altercation with two Jcops. I didn’t have any weapons. I really shouldn’t have punched one of them. They dropped me to the ground instantly and the next thing I know I’m awake handcuffed to a hospital bed and my wrists are lacerated and bleeding from the cuffs being so tight. I’m lucky they let me go and didn’t press charges. Cops are only supposed to use lethal force as a last resort. From the story it sounds like a shoot first ask questions later situation. And don’t get me started on what the Filipino cops will do to you... so much worse until they verify you’re American, European, Kiwi, or Australian and then have embassy officials visit and threaten them. Then the Filipino cops ask for a bribe to be released. And then the Indonesian cops will just try to plant drugs on you unless the State Department intervenes. I had a crazy youth. In reflection, the Jcops are not bad at all!
Hello Kitty 321
I was talking to a policeman one time and asked him how often he practiced with his pistol and he replied that they had a shooting lesson at police school but not afterward. I therefore imagine it would be difficult to manage to hit somebody in the leg.
Joe Blow
Taking a knife out of someone's hands is extremely difficult without being stabbed/cut multiple times and/or killed.
Joe Blow
You have clearly never fired a gun at a small, moving target. Much less under pressure in a life-and-death situation with the possibility of hitting innocent bystanders.
WilliB
toohey
Alas, a large crowd takes their knowlegdge from Hollywood, including Hollywoods opinion about politics.
Fighto!
Japanese police get a lot of criticism from time to time. But if you mess with them and threaten with a deadly weapon, they will deal with you. As this madman found out.
So many lives potentially saved from this crazed man.
Realization
Is our police officer only like to shot in the chest?
Two police officers has no tactics to grab a man who wielding a knife?
No use of electric shock?
No use of rubber bullets?
Similar case happened every year.
Michael Machida
First he was wielding a knife and then he was brandishing a knife. OK. Well anyhoo, seems like suicide by cop. Seems like.
Sven Asai
Are you crazy? At 3.20 a.m. in fullest darkness you also at the age of 60 would shoot on anything moving if you guessed what is left or right of a weakly light reflecting knife coming nearer.
BeerDeliveryGuy
Tell me about it. It seems I can’t even walk 300m to my Lawsons without being ambushed 5 times by knife wielding maniacs.
relic1980
Every time I see one of these articles it seems the person is identified as "unemployed". Do people think that those who are unemployed are more prone to be violent or something? IMO this just stigmatizes those who are, for whatever reason, not employed.
Oxycodin
Shoot legs first but shot to the chest point blank?
Tamil
"they ordered him twice to drop the knife."
Zack
for those screaming 'this ain't Hollywood!' - if the policeman is not skilled enough to be calm and in control and with sharp aim that can shoot the knife out or at least a leg then the policeman shouldn't be allowed to carry a gun.
the man with a knife is dangerous, but as far as we know he didn't do anything other than swinging a knife.
a kick in the nuts would have knocked him down for hours.
Tamil
"woman had come to her house, asking her to call 110 because her son was acting violently."
Mommy I want my way,, I want my way..... but it went the other way.
Gaijinjland
Not a lot of info to go on. Don’t the police here have taser guns? Violent men with knives are so common in Japan. You would think the police would have some other way to subdue they guy other than lethal force. Just saying...
Alongfortheride
For those saying "Hit him in the leg first" Shooting a hand gun is a lot different than a rifle and that hitting a smaller target (like a leg) is actually not that easy. So as other people have mentioned you go for the largest part which is the torso.
Keep in mind if he was not heading in the direction of a cop with a knife in his hand he would still be alive.
tooheysnew
For those people screaming ‘Aim for the leg, aim for the arm’ - this ain’t Hollywood !
snowymountainhell
Wondering about the 10 minute delay between the first call from the mother and the next call from the neighbor.
aomorisamurai
@Albert
"Is there no rule?"
You correctly identify your target, aim for center mass and make damn sure you know what's behind your target.
Albert
Who not shooting him in the legs. Is there no rule?
I assume giving a warning twice, the police had enough time to anticipate.