Man arrested for attempted murder after pushing woman off platform at Tokyo station

for future reference, if you want to die there is no need to push someone in front of a train, just jump.

Poor woman. I hope recovers quickly.

Messed up. Misplaced anger. Glad she wasn't killed, hope she recovers.

If this fool had done this in the states in a city like NY, he'd likely've been beaten to death.

Bobcatfish- 100% agreed!

This has to be my worst fear of living in Japan. Having some nutter come up behind me and give me a shunt onto the tracks. There are too many mentally unstable people in the general population to relax. I never stand near the edge of the platform and am always checking the retards standing behind me. - this report comes on the heels of the report stating 24% of Japanese adults have some sort of mental health problem. What about the non-adults? This loser is 20 years old so he is counted as an adult, but how many teens and younger are suffering from mental illness? This guys troubles didn't start on his 20th birthday. Complete scum bag!

There seems to be a lot of these cases in Japan, where someone kills or attempts to kill in order to get the death penalty. Without the death penalty the murder rate would be lower.

bakabaka at 09:31 AM JST - 24th March

“There seems to be a lot of these cases in Japan, where someone kills or attempts to kill in order to get the death penalty. Without the death penalty the murder rate would be lower.”

You are being rational, they never will be, if it isn’t this way it will be some other way they get you, or me.

So, when are we going to see the article that he only gets a couple years in jail for this?

Scary- I live on the Chuo Line, and on Mondays I work near Tokyo station so I was there not long before that incident. I'm with Disillusioned- for a few years now I have made sure to stand well back from the yellow line even and try to keep an eye on the people around me- I hate to be first in the line for a train, even if it means I have to stand. I know this kind of incident is rare so it seems paranoid, but all it takes is one crazy person, and the Chuo line seems to have a lot of them...

I never stand near the edge of the platform and am always checking the retards standing behind me

I think its a bit harsh labeling every Japanese commuter a retard and am surprised the mods let this post stand.

bakabaka,

There seems to be a lot of these cases in Japan, where someone kills or attempts to kill in order to get the death penalty. Without the death penalty the murder rate would be lower.

The difference between Japan and for example the US or Europe is that guns are easier to get hold of. How many times have we heard in recent months of nutters shooting up a load of people then turning the gun on themselves.

This crime reported here is just another manifestation of the same crazy urge in my opinion. Just the methodology is different.

In other words, Japan is no worse or better than any other developed nation in this respect.

She fell on the tracks and survived?! Wow.

Actually saw a person go under a train here years ago. I was waiting for a Yamanoto Line train at Osaki Station(?). I was lined up with the other automotons getting ready to get on the No. 3 carriage. As the train came in and slowed, this guy just jumped. What a mess, the train was probably only doing about 40km an hour, but with all that heavy rolling stock behind it, it just turned the chap to mush with the wheels spitting up this fine spray of blood and flesh. The driver had no time to stop (he was actually accompanied from the train later with a bad case of shock). Seeing this nearly put me off my lunch.

Young man you didnt(will not) get what you want... better go to your apartment and hang yourself

I was on that train and heard the woman screaming from underneath the train after the train came to a sudden stop. Fortunately, because the train had almost finished stopping at the station the speed was very slow at the time of the incident. I am glad to hear that the victim is doing well, considering the circumstances.

The description is nearly putting me off mine, tim. The poor drivers have got to be afraid of this happening, huh? Gold star on this driver's report card, though, for being alert on the job.

As for the nutters on stations, I almost never line up, since there's usually space in my commuting hours. I rarely catch trains too, though, so it's not hard for me to stand.

yet another example of a nutter lashing out randomly at people completely disassociated with the grievances in their lives

Hope he gets placed in a nice padded place where he gets help and never harms another person again.

Another shocking case of daily life in beautiful Japan. Very sad indeed. It reminded me of the other sicko who pushed a salaryman to his death in Okayama Station last year. Like other posters have said, there are a lot of these sickos in this country...and I also take care when I am in a crowded station. I actually stand with one foot in front and one behind -to hinder anyone who would try to push me onto the tracks. One crazy Japanese woman tried to push me OFF a train last year - but so far, no-one has tried to ush me in front of a train . . . Another day in Japan. I hope this guy is left to rot in prison for the rest of his life. It is sad, though, that there are so many Japanese people who feel like this guy, sad, unloved and unwanted by Japanese society. There are really major social problems in this cpuntry - and sadly, the government does zilch about them.

He is right, 100% correct; the World doesn't need him.

Who will end up being in front of the line on the platform if we all decided not to?

this is why im always standing against the wall or near the stairs...

The poor woman will be mentally scarred for life too. May never use trains again.

I think its a bit harsh labeling every Japanese commuter a retard and am surprised the mods let this post stand.

Every commuter? I think bobbafett is referring to the tiny handful who ruin it everybody else.

Every commuter? I think bobbafett is referring to the tiny handful who ruin it everybody else

No bobbafett was not. bobbafett was pointing out that the type of person who would do such a thing is one in 10,000,000 not a train station full of retards as it was put.

he had failed an employment exam and that the world did not need him

scumbag. Life is not a given, you have to work for it. There are many people who started lower in life than most Japanese and still rise to the top. Must we live our lives continuously looking over our shoulders for morons like Ota because he/she didn't get what they wanted.

There are many people who started lower in life than most Japanese and still rise to the top.

Not in Japan, they didn't.

Not defending this nutjob, but failure works a bit differently over here. The whole "bootstrapping" thing is a good idea (if occasionally questionable) in cultures that embrace it, but here?

This guy was hosed. Doesn't come within light years of justifying what he did, but yeah, he was screwed in a very material way.

Here we are another; ...unemployed and suffering from a mental disability. Such person should be escorted with someone on the streets to protect public. His marbles are on the loose and being behind bars wouldn't bring him back to normal. I wonder if he was born with his illness or did 'global warming and economy' disturbed his marble games. He should wear special sign on him while walking on the streets: 'PLEASE DO NOT DISTURB.'

well, it is a pity that an innocent middle aged woman has to suffer the sin she never committed , but thank God that she survived the accident.this young man must have been so confused about life but he was not right pushing the woman wanting to kill her , i think the law has to take its course. But again, i have to warn most companies in japan that they are the cause of most of this problems, you know that you will not give someone a job after getting an interview, why did you invite him for an interview in the first place? dont you know that japan is such a suicide society where someone can take a dangerous decision when he losses something so wanting without getting it?they demand for one thing or the other when you vist the hallo work looking for a job and the job is just less than 150,000 yen.please japanese companies , stop dissapointing people because you are making fullery of that person after wasting his time and money coming for an interview.

Timorborder:

" Seeing this nearly put me off my lunch. "

Nearly?? You mean you had a healthy appetite afterwards? Ugh..

I think there is a higher percentage of RETARDS to normal people here in Japan. I wonder what it is? The everyday Stress? what ever it is, Japanese authorities have to figure out the root of the problem or This will continue as the economy worsens and puts more stress on people.

Call me paranoid, but I no longer stand close to the edge of the platform because of these recent incidents.

I will always stand by my "looking for the thumbs up" theory here. As in the Tokyo stab spree he got the thumbs down at work and socially. Yep, the thumbs up society and in a way gaijin have it much easier as we were not raised with the group mentality and a must be accepted place. Best recovery for her.... and the simple fact she was an old lady is sad.

I think there is a higher percentage of RETARDS to normal people here in Japan.

Harsh comment. I think there are a lot of disturbed people here in Japan. The problem is is that they blend into society so easily and so you wouldn't know until they 'flip' that there a few bricks short of a wall!

He could have jumped or hanged himself but no, he wanted to be famous while going out by bringing shame to his family.

I think there is a higher percentage of RETARDS to normal people here in Japan

This comment stems from a narcissistic point of view. The very same one that causes people to push old women into the path of a train.

Sometimes I think JR should open a kiosk in every major station. They will provide free pamphlets on how to kill yourself. None of them involving trains or other people. And of course a helpline number for those still deciding to go on or not.

As the economy falters the mental health situation will get worst and worst here. Already Chuo line is stopped constantly by human "accidents" and it is getting worst.

Don't stand near the edge, watch your back and keep an eye on the skies while walking around high buildings. At this rate we'll top 40,000 this year.

I think the Japanese people take too many things for granted, including safety. I see mothers don't hold children's hands on train platforms, young and elderly standing just behind the yellow line, when announcement says please stand behind the white line.

I hope this incident will be a good lesson for them and for us gaijins too....:) Glad the poor woman is safe.

If he did it to get the death penalty, why not administer himself and jump.

He was mental diminished at the time so he will get a reduced sentence

Perhaps the guy had been shoved one too many times by an Obasan rushing for a seat and was expressing his pent-up anger and frustration

He wanted the death penalty, but was too selfish and cowardly to jump in front of the train himself.

More train lines need the safety barriers installed which only open once the train has stopped. Similar to the Maranouchi line, the yellow line is then made irrelevant (apart for blind who use it as guide). Since this was installed about 2 years ago there have been no delays due to “jinshin jiko” on this line. I’m sure its not cheap, but definitely worth it. It’s the only line I use where I don’t actually face everyone "behind" me as the train approaches. Its common sense, even prior to these incidents and prior to coming to Japan, trust no one and live.

Can you imagine the expense of installing safety barriers at all the stations. Over 1000 stations in Kanto alone. Cost prohibitive. It's a bubble-wrap solution.

He is right that the world doesn't need him but what does pushing a woman off a train platform do to resolve that problem? Mentally diminished is right - like, completely over the edge.

I have a suspicion this sort of thing will increase in the coming years as the parents of the older otaku start dying off & they are forced out of their nests & into the real world, a world that they know nothing about.

What a jerk. HE wanted to die, so he thought the best way was to kill someone else and get the death penalty. I can't STAND it.

she lived and he had mental problems, i can predict he wont serve anytime, just get saying sarcastically mental "help".

In other words, Japan is no worse or better than any other developed nation in this respect.

Not true. Of course there are mentally disturbed people everywhere, we all know that. But to say Japan's mental health services are "developed" is silly. All cultures are NOT the same. There are differences between them.

Why was he allowed to be in public without a guardian in the first place? What was the mental disability? Was he on meds? Why wasn't he deemed a danger to himself or others by his mental health care professionals? Does he have a previous criminal record? Could/should this have been prevented?

Personally, during my time in Japan, I have seen a shockingly large number of mentally disturbed people roaming around in public. And what is more shocking is they are usually alone and not accompanied by a guardian.

I think the only mental illness many people have here is weakness. I have noticed that men here in Japan that decide take their frustrations out do so by chosing the most vulnerable person they can find. Like with the stabbings incidents that go on, majority of the incidents are men stabbing women or children. In this incident its a 20 yrs old male pushing a 60 yrs old woman onto the train track. Maybe its just me that has noticed this observation but if you look at about 90% of the crimes here that involve people getting hurt, its a man hurting elderly, delicate women, and children. I am sure in this case there were hundreds of people to push over the edge (dont know why he chose to do that) but he chose a combination of the vulnerable, an elderly woman. I have lost a lot of respect for the dudes here because of that. If it is truly a mental illness that is causing such misfortunes the men really need some type mental health treatment and self confident classes on some ole- look and the mirror and tell yourself this every morning: "I am man, I don't have to pick on children, women, and elderly to feel better about myself."

They do have issues with men attacking women and children over here. Not saying it doesn't happen anywhere else, but men here seem to take their frustrations out on innocent people. Think they need the "I am somebody" speech when they wake up. Listen to some MJ, man in the mirror.......punks.

Man and woman do it alike here, men are just more prominent here. They can not take life so they take another so someone will take their lives for them. Even if we take away the death penalty, the suicide rate would just climb or some other statistic.

Ota later admitted to police he pushed the woman off the platform, saying he wanted to die, and did it to get the death penalty.

Well now we know why he failed his employment exam. Fries with that, Ota?

frontandcentre Perhaps the guy had been shoved one too many times by an Obasan rushing for a seat and was expressing his pent-up anger and frustration.

Nice, I initially thought the same thing. But on a serious note, I've seen more mentally unstable people roaming the streets of Aichi than I've seen in the more then 20 countries I've visited! And also been harassed on three separate occasions by mentally disturbed men, two of which occurred at a station. All of which no one stepped in to assist!? I'm surprised the station staff was quick enough to grab him and hold him until the police arrived.

...if I had been one of the bystanders restraining him, I would have cinched an aikido elbow lock on him so hard that it would have busted his elbow. Lock this oxygen thief away and throw away the key.

I so don't get this - you have your problems so you kill, or try to kill, someone else? How many crimes in the last few months have been committed and the perp says "I was upset/frustrated/having a bad day/angry about something"....Very scary.

How deplorable mental health assistance is in this country! The Japanese still consider counseling to be a stigma, and the number of qualified counselors are few.

Yet the government continues to ignore the problem. How sad....

Like most J-guys, not real smart this one. Just jump in front yourself next time, little coward man.

Unbelievable and frightening at the same time. I’m glad to hear that this elderly woman wasn’t killed and is on the road to recovery. Whitepocky, I agree with you that there are some mentally disturbed people in Japan and do fit perfectly in society. Unfortunately, these disturbed people are difficult to distinguish from the normal people. One has to be cautious and should assess his or her surroundings for potential threats/dangers. One should always heed his or her instinct and if uneasy at any moment, should remove oneself from such environment immediately. Stay safe everyone.