Man arrested after stabbing 5 people at Hakata train station

Japan, which has a low violent crime rate

Frequent readers of JT would have never guessed this.

Though well-informed, unbiased people would recognise it immediately.

Yet to see the details, but most frightening thing may be that we are getting used to this kind of thing being reported every once in a while.

Another day in Japan. This guy was so stressed out he needed a little adventure in his life. He could have just gone bungee jumping. That is not only a thrill but at least afterward you can back to the bar and hoot with your friends and brag about it. What this guy did is just plain stupid and selfish.

“wanted to stab people,” or something similar is unfortunately a sentiment expressed by unbalanced people in Japan who commit these types of crimes.

Was in Hakata yesterday, it was business as usual. Wow! I'm really surprised. Terrible situation. Glad no one was killed.

Japan, which has a low violent crime rate

JT, do you have any stats on this? Just writing it doesn't make it true!

Mirai, you'd need reliable stats which we all know the J government doesn't provide.

Interesting that the headline for this has the guy pretty well guilty -- "after stabbing 5 people" -- as compared to your recent headline for the two US Navy guys jailed after an "alleged" rape.

How are those two situations legally different? Why two different approaches in the headlines?

Do you find it OK to make an assumption of guilt when it comes to arrested Japanese persons, but not arrested Americans?

with all the surveillance cameras everywhere over there I'm told, they could not catch him immediately?

Hunter, is it really that hard for your to work out? Video and witnesses vs none.

This is shocking because it is becoming more common. Some guy has a bad do and goes out a stabs some people. Or allegedly stabs some people. This is common enough to call it an epidemic. I am glad that guns are in short supply here.

Stabbing strangers is not the only random form of violence to be found in Japan. The other day the Asahi carried an article about someone putting needle in the seats of subway trains in Osaka.

@wowyz Not really that many surveillance cameras - nowhere near the UK, for example

Random killings of people also happen in America rather often and many are dead there since they use guns instead of knifes. We are lucky living in a country where guns are strictly controlled.

Generally speaking, Japan does have a low violent crime rate. However, if you also consider infanticide, murder suicide and in-family murder to be violent crime, then the statistics become much more alarming. Also, most of the violent crime in Japan is done by emotionally unstable nutters that flip-out and take out their anxiety on the nearest individual/s they can find. At least in other countries you can usually tell which people are going to give you trouble, but this is not the case in Japan. It could be anybody from the little old lady sitting next to you to the junior high school kid sitting across the isle. Glad none was killed by this attention seeking twit.

At least in other countries you can usually tell which people are going to give you trouble, but this is not the case in Japan.

This is precisely backward. There is much less random violence in Japan.

do you have any stats on [Japan's purportedly low violent crime rate]

There are plenty of stats. The assault rate is low. Ditto for the homicide rate.

http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/cri_ass_rat-crime-assault-rate

By any measure, Japan is not a violent country.

Nessie, you missed the point. I never said random attacks were more common in Japan. I merely stated that you can usually tell who will give you trouble in other countries.

Unfortunately, I couldn't trust any statistics done by the authorities in Japan, including crime rates.

I merely stated that you can usually tell who will give you trouble in other countries.

You can tell who will give you trouble in Japan as well: People you know.

Another nutter.

Nessie, is that supposed to make us feel safer?

A tradgic accident. Being, a random person caused this is just rediculous. It makes me sick when I hear people in news reports saying "I just wanted to stab someone". This is not an excuse or a reason, there has to be something else....how about this person was completly insane....or maybe he had something bad happen to him.

I think the death sentence is the easy way out. I hope that this criminal, want-to-be serial murderer will get 21 years atleast in prison where he can sit and rot away inside his heart at what he wanted to commit.

Insane or sane, there is no excuse for this evil violence!

"I just wanted to hit people", "I just wanted to see what it was like to kill someone", "I just wanted to make the girls dirty...", "I just wanted to stab people"... sure are a lot of whackjobs that want to do a lot of horrible things to other people...

Hunter Brumfield--

It is standard operating procedure to use the "alleged" phrasing when dealing with any crime, even when the person turns himself in of own accord, confesses, there are witnesses or video. The reasons are to protect the paper from libel and also to avoid confusing, panicking the public when an investigation is still incomplete.

You will notice the first line of this story uses alleged. Why not the headline? Are there special rules about the headline? "Alleged" is an extraneous long word for a short, snappy headline. Maybe as long as they say alleged in the story, the headline is forgiveable. Dunno.

i think this people need to voice out their stress ....

and Japan why dont you open a free councelling so u can help your people!

There seems to be more and more anger being displayed in this way recently

Called the fire department?

time for a 2300-0500 curfew there. That will help lower the crime.

Nessie, is that supposed to make us feel safer?

If you live in Japan and don't feel safe, the problem is not Japanese violence. It's paranoia.