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Police in Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture, have arrested a 66-year-old man on suspicion of murder after he stabbed his downstairs neighbor at their apartment building.
According to police, Isao Wakaba, who lives on the second floor of the building in Takatsu Ward, stabbed Koichi Hidaka, 65, at around 1:30 p.m. on Sunday, Fuji TV reported. Hidaka was found collapsed and bleeding in front of the door to his apartment. He was taken to hospital where he died shortly after arrival.
Police said Wakaba has admitted to the charge and quoted him as saying, “When he returned home, I went downstairs and stabbed him three times in the stomach. I intended to kill him.” A blood-stained knife, believed to be the murder weapon, was found in his apartment.
Police said there had apparently been trouble between the two men for some time, though to what extent they knew each is uncertain.
© Japan Today
11 Comments
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Disillusioned
Apparently? I'd say it was, obviously.
Aly Rustom
Ya think??
pudus
"Police said there had apparently been trouble between the two men for some time'
There was a case where an downstairs neighbor had got into a conflict with the upstairs neighbor over leaves in the downstairs balcony. An evil quarrel resulted, with a menacing face kabuki balloon placed in the down stairs patio. Subsequently police were called because the upstairs neighbor started bang on the downstairs ceiling , at late evenings and early mornings. Apt management and police did VERY little. Then it was said that the upstairs wife started working some black magic on the downstairs guy, sending him to a hospital for a slight case of heart failure. Moral to this story never get into it with somebody living above you or below you in Japan. Cause the system will fail you, especially if you are not native
JerseyDevil
another site: tokrep:
“I had some trouble before,” the suspect was quoted. “This year, a complaint about noise reached me via a real estate agent, and I thought I had to kill him. So, when he came home, I went downstairs and stabbed him.”
Yeah PUD seems like you got a point.
blue in green
When a tenant raises a complaint about noise to a rental agency,
if the other tenant ( who is being complained about) is from another rental agency,
they won't give the other tenant this info. The owner plays deaf-mute, leaves it in the rental agencies hands, lather, rinse, repeat.
The noise can get so bad, and the tenant can even call police, but police can do F A,
about it, as most times the offender won't answer the door.
The frustration is REAL.
It is a system of run-around, no one taking responsibility, no communication, and frustration, and to move is very costly = A recipe for disaster.
descendent
Moral of the story is to not live in apartments in Japan. Buy a house.
Barzathel
@Disillusioned , @Aly Rustom
Actually it's not that obvious. We often get the "I just wanted to kill a random person" type too.
Tom
@descendent: Most houses are so close together here that you hear all the banging, tv's, music and fighting anyway.
Noise pollution is so bad in Japan. I have bad neighbors. It resonates from their place to mine and we are on the same floor. Plus I am downwind and their garbage is horrible. Pigs.
I bet the guy upstairs was a drunk and walked like thunder and got tired of the guy under him complaining rightly so.
3RENSHO
"Most houses are so close together here that you hear all the banging, tv's, music and fighting anyway."
A very good point -- with only 2 metres between houses (and no insulation), I can hear the neighbour guffawing along with the laugh track, and can easily identify what TV program he is watching...