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Man arrested for attempting to kill neighbor over noise dispute

24 Comments

Police in Atami, Shizuoka Prefecture, have arrested a 39-year-old man on suspicion of attempted murder after he assaulted his neighbor with a hammer.

According to police, the incident occurred at around 9:30 p.m. Saturday in an apartment building, Sankei Shimbun reported. Police said Masayuki Tsunakawa, a company employee, attacked his neighbor, a 63-year-old doctor, at the entrance to his apartment by hitting him on the head several times with a hammer. Tsunakawa also tried to choke the man.

The victim was taken to hospital where doctors said he was in a stable condition.

Police said that just before the assault, the victim had been listening to music in his apartment. Tsunakawa was quoted by police as saying that his neighbor always played music loudly and that he went next door to do something about it.

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24 Comments
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When every problem is a nail ...

7 ( +9 / -2 )

Another ticking time bomb. Japanese people are encouraged to bottle up their emotions, gaman as they say, them one day decades later it comes out like this.

2 ( +11 / -9 )

 Tsunakawa was quoted by police as saying that his neighbor always played music loudly and that he went next door to do something about it.

Normal people would have just asked him to turn it down. This loon was obviously a psycho time bomb just waiting to go off.

-2 ( +10 / -12 )

He probably did ask him to turn it down but there are so many selfish bar stewards over here,especially male seniors in their latter years who think they can do whatever they want.

I am not condoning his actions I am just saying that I have entertained doing the same to my noisy neighbour having been woken up again at 2:00am,lol.

I am surprised that these incidents aren't happening all of the time in such crowded,poor housing quality cities.

22 ( +26 / -4 )

Moskolio,

Good points.

4 ( +5 / -1 )

Hope Tsunakawa understands that in prison, he'll be the nail, and it's unlikely to be quiet when and if he demands it. These morons never think but for two seconds in front of themselves.

Moskollo: "There should be a noise complaints line at the city offices to act as a third party, some people are just inconsiderate or don’t care what other people think by nature."

Well, the police should actually just deal with noise violations like most countries do, instead of ignoring it until this kind of thing happens. I'm more inclined to believe that with the paper-thin walls of most buildings here the good doctor wasn't being very loud at all, but Tsunakawa just snapped like so many uptight "company employees" do.

3 ( +5 / -2 )

There should be a noise complaints line at the city offices to act as a third party, some people are just inconsiderate or don’t care what other people think by nature. A third party would mean no violence and amicable settlements of noise disputes.

In my experience, the authorities don't want to hear about it. If you have a noise problem with your neighbours, neither the police nor the ward office/city hall will come to your aid. They will tell you to settle the problem yourself. I had a problem years ago where my landlord opened a karaoke bar under my apartment. I had to get a lawyer to solve the problem. The lawyer did it for 10% of the settlement, and was very good.

You're absolutely right though, a third party would be the way to go.

18 ( +19 / -1 )

"In my experience, the authorities don't want to hear about it. If you have a noise problem with your neighbours, neither the police nor the ward office/city hall will come to your aid. "

Aint that the truth,

8 ( +9 / -1 )

Words to the wise:

喧嘩両成敗 = in a quarrel、both parties are to blame

0 ( +2 / -2 )

Lack of sleep and peace and quite make people do bad things.

5 ( +6 / -1 )

Walls in some apartments are quite thin. But even between separated houses you can hear noises vibrating through the foundations - especially if your house is made of wood. Best to be considerate for your neighbours.

5 ( +6 / -1 )

Repeatedly beating someone over the head with a hammer should be the very last resort ! Always good to start with a pleasant request, then a demand, an order, abusive language and insults, a poke in the chest, an open handed slap, a punch and only then the hammer. Guy must have been a nut!

1 ( +3 / -2 )

Maybe his hearing aid battery needs replacement?

A nice set of quality SONY headphones could be a thoughtful gift too.

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

it takes two to party, but living a large apartment complex has it's drawbacks,

you got people around you up, down, side by side,

we don't know anything, if the hammerhead try to reason with him for years, or he just flip.

maybe it's the middle somewhere,

1 ( +2 / -1 )

@Tom Young Touche!

0 ( +0 / -0 )

I used to have an elderly neighbor who would fall asleep with his TV blaring. I figured out how to get into his apartment and would surreptitiously turn it off. I didn't blame him; poor old guy, life had just worn him down.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Have dumb running like horse neighbor kids now and it is horrible. Constantly battling with them to top it. Take the kids out, run them and wear them out like a horse. Worked on me when I wa a kid.

But had a dog across the street before that yelped and cried all day long. Police told me the dog was in the house so could not do anything about it. It finally past away and what a great night sleep I finally had.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

This reminds me I have to be grateful for my quiet neighbors

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Moskollo:

There should be a noise complaints line at the city offices to act as a third party,

There is. You call 9110 (警察相談専用電話) for troubles among neighbors such as this.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

At 63 possible the victim was suffering from hearing loss and possibly just didn't realize it or face up to it.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

@socrateos - Thank you for that very useful post! I did not know that there was such a service!

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Wow this is very concerning... I am not a noisy neighbor, I follow community property rules etc... However, my immediate neighbor next door is unusual the guy has yet to acknowledge my 子日は、今晩は he is super rude for some reason. I hope he's not the crazy type to attack me or do something stupid. Wow sometimes it's hard to say with Japanese people.

You know Japan is a relatively safe place to live, but after a while you a different side of Japanese society reveals itself.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

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