Man arrested after 8-hour siege in Tokyo condo

"Some coffee" get people out of control....

The ninja police looked awesome! Good work to the police. I actually pity this guy. I have suffered from drinking problems in the past, and yes drinking + mental issues can cause you to act off your rocker. I have done it many times, once covering myself in vegemite and running around in my undies. Luckily the police saw the funny side of it.

Kudos for the rappelling police. 14th floor and being able to subdue the suspect without anyone getting hurt, good job.

@smithinjapan: Shooting a criminal who is pointing a gun at someone, threatening to shoot, isn't "going in guns blazing", it's protecting lives.

Well, when you lose your job, it can become depressing at times. Which leads to drink irresponsibly. The job he had must've been paying pretty good to act such a certain way.

Ito was a former employee of a private detective agency with an office in the building next door.

from Tokumei Tantei to public failure

Smithinjapan, I am well aware that this incident has nothing do with US tactics, but when I was watching it on the News he quickly pulled out a weapon and pointed it at many people in a threatening manner. Nobody knows if he had a real gun, but I am aware that cops in Japan have shot many individuals who used their cars as weapons. Maybe it's their policy not to shoot suspects until after someone gets injured. Anyhow, I am glad those police ninjas apprehended him and ended the siege.

Same the World Over, chemically altered minds do not function properly.

Ito was a former employee of a private detective agency

Someone's -really- got to take a serious look at this private investigations racket in Japan. It's dodgy as ****

with Tokyo just announced as the safest city in the world, those problems can happen unpredictably if the economy won't work for low-income people as in this article.

It is determined in how humane is the society, when ones do not start shooting each other just for the thrill of it. Police and wrongdoers are all people. He might not remember most of things because of his detective job and drinking, which might have caused mental instability. Which is quite pitiful and problematic.

When Tokyo citizens flip out because they've lost their job, take cover!

After reading the comments, I too was very surprised when he started pointing a gun that the police didn't shoot him. He was fortunate it happened in Japan.

Vernie: "I am really shocked they didn't give the order to shoot him once he started pointing that gun at people."

It's not the USA! They don't go in guns blazing, fortunately for this man, and the police. They show an incredible amount of restraint when it comes to using firearms. Maybe they had an inkling that they were not real guns.

"What kind of alcohol do some of these japanese people drink that causes them to NOT remember things?? I need to know because I want to erase somethings from my memory!"

In my 12-pack-before-going-out years, blackouts were a weekly occurrence. And I was drinking cheap beer, Boone's and other alternatives to paint thinner. I'd regularly be confronted by mates the next morning with tales of my stupidity. Not that I'm offering drink as an excuse for hellish behavior or (Japan) for some rather shocking crimes but it's hardly unique, blacking out.

That said, if what his friend said can be trusted "... that he had been acting strangely since he lost his job and had been muttering that his enemies were closing in" ... then I reckon this is an undiagnosed paranoid schizo requiring some serious drugs.

"You in a whole heap 'o trouble boy"

I am really shocked they didn't give the order to shoot him once he started pointing that gun at people. On the news he went into a shooting stance many times with the weapon.

Yes, perhaps surprisingly, Japanese culture has been tending more toward allowing most disagreeable actions over drinks, or while being drunk, I mean if not the criminal conduct this time around. But, uh, I mean, these days, presumably under the influence of Western countries, it has gradually not been the case, and the convenient excuse doesn't work even in Japanese society. Switching gears, the man looked quite drunk when I watched him on TV...

What kind of alcohol do some of these japanese people drink that causes them to NOT remember things??

It's shochu mate! Or, as its alternatively known, window cleaner!

While watching the guy on TV Saturday night it appeared that he was out of it ... mainly because of the way he was tossing his stuff off the balcony. Then after he was identified TV showed his real expression ... and he did look like a guy who was off his rocker. Doubt if drinking alcohol for eight straight hours or more would cause a person to do such things. Poor guy needs to see a shrink ...

What kind of alcohol do some of these japanese people drink that causes them to NOT remember things?? I need to know because I want to erase somethings from my memory!

And, another one snaps! Was it alcoholism? Was it the pressure of losing his job? Was it the peer pressure of a society where you are below zero if you don't have a job? Or, was it a combination of all three? Sssssssnap!

Keith Richards would right this off as a childhood prank.

Ah, the "I was drunk and don't remember anything" excuse! I guess you can say it's a good thing, though, that this 'siege' was just some idiot throwing things and not a gunman with a bunch of hostages or anything.