crime

Man arrested for setting fire to bar after being told other customers don’t like talking to him

32 Comments

Police in Tachikawa, Tokyo, have arrested a 44-year-old man on suspicion of arson and property destruction after he allegedly set fire to a bar last month.

Police quoted Takahiro Ishii, a company employee, as saying “I might have done it but I was drunk and don’t have any recollection of starting a fire,” Kyodo News reported.

The incident occurred between 3:30 a.m. and 4 a.m. on Aug 27 after the bar had closed. Ishii is accused of splashing a flammable liquid on the front door and wall and igniting it. The fire destroyed part of the facade before it went out by itself.

Police said street surveillance camera footage near the bar showed Ishii pouring liquid on the door.

Police said Ishii had been drinking in the bar by himself before it closed. He was quoted as saying he got irritated after being told by a female employee that no one in the bar wanted to talk to him and that he should stop bothering them.

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32 Comments
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Seeing how the criminal seems horribly entitled and prone to destructive behavior it is completely understandable that nobody at the bar wanted to have anything to do with him.

19 ( +22 / -3 )

The bar employee should not have make such a hurting comment to their customer. !

-13 ( +12 / -25 )

Maybe the staff should have kept her mouth shut. It wasn't her place. Maybe the managers. People go to bars for many reasons, to talk, to drink, to think, to hide troubles, to relax and if the other customers don't want to talk, they can stick their nose in their iPhones. If you dont want to talk to someone just say "sorry" I'm rather busy at the moment, and move on.

-14 ( +9 / -23 )

@Abe234: given the way he reacted it is very likely that he was being extremely obnoxious, possibly scarily so.

There were no other customers there so seems much more likely that he was harassing the staff. Completely ridiculous to blame them, given that they were clearly dealing with an extremely irrational individual.

18 ( +23 / -5 )

To those defending this miscreant, and admonishing the bartender, you are 100% incorrect.

It is exactly the bartender's job, in fact their duty, to keep patrons from bothering other patrons.

It isn't that the patrons didn't want to talk in a bar, they didn't want to talk to him. He was the problem, not the other patrons.

His subsequent actions make that fairly obvious.

16 ( +21 / -5 )

Many a times people told me they don't like talking to me at a bar. But I never thought of starting a fire. I just cried all the way home. Usual stuff.

14 ( +15 / -1 )

What a loser. No wonder this psycho has no friends. Maybe he will have a chance to strike up a friendship in The Big House.

6 ( +8 / -2 )

@maledae2Today  05:30 pm JST

The bar employee should not have make such a hurting comment to their customer. !

If people were pulled up on foolish and antisocial behaviour from a young age more people would have people skill and mature into men not this kind of self entitled grumpy toddlers who are prone to tantrums like we see here.

5 ( +6 / -1 )

Many years ago one would still could have solved the problem by simply ‘buying’ the denied sympathy, giving some drinks to the bartender and a round or two for all other guests too. That makes one to the most loved guest within five minutes and you’re also welcome again to any future visits. A bar is surely no place for conflicts, it is meant to be a nice place for problem forgetting and conflict solving. IMO that guy doesn’t understand anything about bar culture and probably doesn’t belong into any.

4 ( +6 / -2 )

I'm guessing nobody in prison is going to want to talk with him either.

3 ( +5 / -2 )

"I was drunk".........'nuff said.

7 ( +8 / -1 )

The bar employee should not have make such a hurting comment to their customer. !

Well sometimes you need someone to come out and say it as it could be damaging your business. I have worked places that had customers with a few screws loose that scared away other customers.

1 ( +4 / -3 )

The good old “I was drunk and can’t remember” defence being trotted out again. Pity CCTV tends to negate it nowadays.

The bar staff were well within their rights.

2 ( +4 / -2 )

His response gives a very good indication as to his personality. Likely aggressive and argumentative, ruining the atmosphere as soon as he walks in. He probably drove customers away and they paid up and left as soon as he walked in

He needed to be banned, and I guess he won’t be back ever.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

I guess he thought setting fire to the place would make him desirable to talk to?

“I might have done it but I was drunk and don’t have any recollection of starting a fire,”

Clever guy, trying to play to the police by using their own excuses.

-5 ( +3 / -8 )

Interesting the guy told the police he might have started the fire but he was drunk and had no recollection of starting the fire!!!! LMFAO One thing he could remember and that is, he was drunk!!!! Oh what a feeling!!

-3 ( +0 / -3 )

Well, now people will sure want to talk to him. Way to make friends!

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

ADK99Today  05:44 pm JST

@Abe234: given the way he reacted it is very likely that he was being extremely obnoxious, possibly scarily so. 

There were no other customers there so seems much more likely that he was harassing the staff. Completely ridiculous to blame them, given that they were clearly dealing with an extremely irrational individual.

You may be completely right. But in that case, if there were no customers, the staff member can ask nicely to leave. It seems that if he was rude to customers, it doesn't mean the staff member has to be rude either. Everyone has had too much to drink at one time or another. Although the part at the end of the article said the bar was empty, when they asked him to leave. So obviously nobody COULD speak to him then, because they ALL left.Which means the why didn't the staff step in sooner when there were customers.

ADK. you may be right.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

He knew he was a total jerk, seeing as it seems he came to the bar with a flammable liquid on his person. I don't think this will help to endear him with any of the staff or patrons. It's all the same, though, because he should be behind bars, not annoying people in one.

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

Classic Japanese crazy.

0 ( +3 / -3 )

OK...I'll talk to him.....put him in touch....I too often feel the urge to burn things.

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

I often read on here about loud, rude, overbearing tourists, but I can never recall a tourist setting fire to a bar ....even though many do not want to talk to them.... perhaps some should look inward before looking outward

3 ( +5 / -2 )

“I might have done it but I was drunk and don’t have any recollection of starting a fire,”

That old chestnut again. Throw this idiot in the slammer.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Ahole alert! This guy must have been a real douche! what I can't believe is that there are people on here apologizing for him! he set a bar on fire for god sake because someone hurt his feelings....!!!

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Police quoted Takahiro Ishii, a company employee, as saying “I might have done it but I was drunk and don’t have any recollection of starting a fire,” 

Classic!

0 ( +2 / -2 )

Man arrested for setting fire to bar after being told other customers don’t like talking to him

Well, I bet they all are just clamouring over each other to talk to him now. LOL

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

I know guys just like this at bars. The one no one wants to talk to.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

Whenever I went to some hole in the wall watering hole, there’s always somebody that wants to talk to you (as a foreigner) . That’s what I always liked about Japan and neighborhood “Snacks”.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

one thing I like about bartenders in japan is in smaller places they tend to try and make conversations with the customers and pass them off on each other either to make friends or be a wingman. Issue is guys like this who just buzz kill even the professional staff and they snap and need to get told bluntly

2 ( +2 / -0 )

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