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A 45-year-old man was arrested on Friday on suspicion of attempted murder after he stabbed two men, apparently at random, outside a ticket gate at JR Ueno Station in Tokyo.
According to police, the incident occurred at around 3:10 p.m. Fuji TV reported that the two victims, one man in his 20s and the other in his 30s, had exited the ticket gate and were about to use an ATM machine when the attack took place.
The suspect stabbed one man in the back and the other in the thigh. The victims were taken to hospital where doctors said their injuries are not life-threatening.
Police said the victims, who are work colleagues, told them they did not know the suspect who remained at the station until police arrived. He had a bloodied knife with him and was rambling incoherently, police said, adding that the only information they had so far learned about him was that his name was So Takumi and he lived in Adachi Ward.
© Japan Today
30 Comments
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Kev James
Whether people like it or not. Japan is very slowly becoming a little more dangerous. It’s still incredibly safe compared to other countries, but we shouldn’t compare ourselves to them. We should look at how the last ten years has seen an increase in hit and runs, random beating on the streets, attacks on trains and at stations and stabbings. Just got to be more vigilant these days. Less time looking at your screen and more time looking around you!
Lindsay
1 in 3 Japanese adults have some kind of mental illness. You never know if that ‘one’ is standing behind you on the train platform.
pudus
"Man arrested after stabbing 2 people"
WTH NOT AGAIN
Torsten Kanisch
A Ministry of Justice 2020 white paper on crime has shown that Japan’s figure for reported criminal offenses fell from the previous year by 8.4% to 749,000 cases. Crime statistics peaked in 2002 at 2.85 million cases, but have fallen continuously for the past 17 years. The figure this time was the lowest on record since the end of World War II.
https://www.nippon.com/en/japan-data/h00898/
Zaphod
Kev James
Do you base that opinion on statistics, or just on the fact that crimes get reported in the media? In case of the latter, what do you expect the media to do ---- report on the milions and millions of people went through another day without encountering a crime?
GBR48
The pandemic has been stressful. A lot of people have suffered through it, and it has pushed some who might otherwise have coped, over the edge. If the increased number of incidents reported is a fair reflection of an increase in incidents taking place, then the impact of the last two years may explain it. Hopefully, things will improve soon.
Btang
@ wowyz, btw our self defense rights are ambiguous.
GdTokyo
Tokyo is easily the safest large city in the world and the rest of the country is safer.
There’s always going to be a nutter or the crazy ex here and there. The idea that Japan is not safe is just silly.
snowymountainhell
Ok. THIS one looks like a random incident and NOT one of the slew intra-family or interpersonal crimes apparently trending in Japan in recent months.
purple_depressed_bacon
I wonder about the thought process that goes behind someone wanting to stab people at a train station. Why a train station specifically? Easy pickings? You'd think starting such a commotion would be better done on a busy street where the perp has less chances of getting caught. But perhaps they want to get caught? Hmm...
snowymountainhell
And for many, so far, the subtleties of irony and sarcasm elude. This should ‘hit the nail on the heads’:
“So, Japan is still a relatively safe place.… Just watch over your shoulder *for the *random nutcase during your daily commute.
And always keep an eye on that one unstable or unpredictable J family member or neighbor on the weekends. …
Stay “safe”, Japan. -
Paul
That is better than 4.7 in 10 Americans. They voted for Trump, that is a dangerous mental illness...
Harry_Gatto
Says who? (Credible source only).
wowyz
"he stabbed two men, apparently at random" Its getting random..yipes.
Slickdrifter
I am sure we will hear later in other story or in media.
When the Police interviewed the suspect they were told by the perp.
"I wanted to know what it felt like to kill someone since I was a kid." Speculation of course.
Japan needs to put more modern and frequent programs in place to help more of it citizens to recognize mental illness and to treat it as well. Japan you have a problem, this happens to frequently at stations and in the General Public.
Mickelicious
Despite the existence of a National Police Agency, our police are hopeless at gathering, collating and analysing data. How else could we justify the continued wholesale prioritisation of motor vehicles over pedestrians everywhere?
602miko
Scary
Takumi
Fighto!Oct. 16 08:07 am JST
can’t have bad statistics if the police refuse to take reports. Japanese police are useless. I’ve had two occasions personally where they refused to file a report because I waited (incidents happened at night and I went to file a report in the morning) and another where my friend was groped and they refused to file a report.
sure, you won’t get shot in Japan but it’s definitely not getting safer. Plenty of bad things happen often.
Japantime
Compared to other countries, Japan is very safe.
Meiyouwenti
“rambling incoherently”
Maybe the guy was on some kind of drug when he stabbed the victims, I’m sure his lawyer will pursue an insanity defense.
Concerncitizen
Plenty:
Crime in Japan dropped to lowest postwar level in 2020
Overall, there were 614,303 criminal cases in Japan last year, down 17.9% from the 2019 figure — the fastest pace of decline on record.
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2021/02/04/national/crime-legal/crime-in-japan-lowest-level/
snowymountainhell
So, Japan is still a relatively safe place. Just watch over your shoulder for the random nutcase during your daily commute. And always keep an eye on that one unstable or unpredictable J family member or neighbor on the weekends. Stay safe, Japan.
Michael Machida
Japan is not a safe country as indicated by yet another act of violence that is sure to make the general public wary of going out and about without looking over their shoulders.
sakurasuki
Yes it's safe until recently
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2021/08/07/national/crime-legal/odakyu-train-stabbing/
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2021/08/25/national/crime-legal/tokyo-subway-acid-attack/
Fighto!
Any real crime statistics to back that up?
Didn't think so.
Japan is seeing less crime year by year. It is getting safer.
Peeping_Tom
"You don't like it here, and feel yourself in danger, you know what to do, the passport is on your nightstand..
Bon Voyage !!.."
Tragically they won't!