Police in Tokyo have arrested a 38-year-old man on suspicion of obstruction of business after he faxed a threat to a police station, threatening a “massacre” at a vaccination site in Tokyo.
According to police, Shuji Kamibayashi, a self-employed resident of Tokyo’s Adachi Ward, sent the fax, with the heading “Death Threat,” to Takenotsuka Police Station from a convenience store in Saitama Prefecture at 6 p.m. on Sept 19, Sankei Shimbun reported. The message stated that “a massacre would occur at 9 a.m. on Sept 20 at a vaccination site run by the ward office.”
In response, 50 police officers were deployed to 24 COVID-19 vaccination sites across Adachi Ward.
Kamibayashi was arrested Tuesday after being identified through an analysis of convenience store surveillance camera footage taken at the time the fax was sent. Police said he has admitted to the allegations and was quoted as saying, “I was unable to work due to COVID-19 and did it to relieve my pent-up anger.”
© Japan Today
30 Comments
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gakinotsukai
i'm antifax
Mat
Bomb threat by fax, lol. Japan truly is the place that time forgot. Is there anywhere else in the world where a person could send a fax to their local police station?
OssanAmerica
Yes, most if of not all police stations in the U.S. have a fax as it is often needed for sending/receiving documents. Not eveything is scanned. In many cases where the Dept has a website the fax number is listed along with the phone numbers.
snowymountainhell
A nationwide Dragnet wasn’t necessary. It was ‘just the fax’ that led the police to him. Well done, NPA!
Scorpion
A fax machine? LOL!!!!
ONLY IN JAPAN!
Seesaw7
Madness!
Sanjinosebleed
This Profax vs Antifax craziness has to stop…;)
Mark
Funny but Sad, get him some help, he needs it.
Antiquesaving
Today most north American police, fire, departments only have fax because they are included in the modern day copy machines and are rarely used because those same machines also serve as email and regular scanners.
As for why their websites have a fax number, it is called a legacy situation, in the same way for some time telegraph info was kept around after phones became the prominent method of communication.
Basically kept around for those unable to deal with modern society.
In North America and Europe that is usually the very senior portion of the population ( 70s and up). In Japan it is closer to a majority of those over 40 but especially 50s and up!
Fighto!
Another sanity-challenged anti-vaxxer.
RINFO
"How many others are walking around with this kind of pent-up frustration?" (PTWS)
Unfortunately Adachi-ku and Koto ward has a history of finding unexploded ordinances, (UXO munitions that did not explode buried in the ground ,when they were employed and still pose a risk of detonation) when they do major construction in Japan.
thaonephil
Weirdoes and crazy people keep getting in the way of the vaccination efforts, this one just went overboard, If he tried to sabotage vaccines as the rest of the loons do (with disinformation and obvious lies) he would have suffered no consequences at all, this site is proof of that, look at any article about COVID and vaccines and you will find people lying openly just to fool people into feeling anxious and reject vaccination without any of them getting even a warning, much less facing consequences of their immoral actions.
nandakandamanda
How many others are walking around with this kind of pent-up frustration?
Strangerland
Seems that if this guy is out of work due to covid, then slowing down the vaccinations that will allow him to get back to work would be counter-productive.
Although, I don't expect that was a consideration of his.
Newgirlintown
He faxed his threat. Only in Japan!
Kyo wa heiwa dayo ne
He did it because he had no money and wanted to go to prison.
Simple as that !
purple_depressed_bacon
Only in Japan would someone FAX a threat. I swear sometimes it's like Japan lives in a time capsule.
marcels
This man has too much time on his hands , wasting police resources , should be monitored closely as this could lead to more serious events,
Zaphod
Ossan
Err.... doesnt the fax machine scan everything you send through it?
Beto
Fax from convenience is a joke .. with the source phone number and surveillance camera as finger print .. what a fool dude! at least send a post card from a post box .. some creativity to buy time from COP ...! LOL, dumb and dumber!
snowymountainhell
Sorry *@nandakandamanda 8:48pm *but there a NO published stats on such an issue. For example, look at intra-family violence in Japan: No published stats.
And, IF a poll was conducted of ‘public opinion’ about boiling-point frustrations, it would be ultimately be ignored. - Or skewed, to fit the government's agenda.
hooktrunk2
Believe it or not, Adachi ward is not a bad place to live. I think his actions offers a clue as to why he was unable to find work, despite the virus.
Sven Asai
COVID-19 might really be a reason for this, as the viruses infest the whole body, in this case obviously the suspect’s brain. Short and LongCovid are broadly underestimated and some more similar cases could be statistically expected anytime, I guess.
Strangerland
It's definitely creating some loonies like the guy from this article. What a nutter.
Scorpion
Pretty much 99.9% of Japan. Take these people out of Japan and they wouldn't know how to function in a forward thinking society.
Zaphod
Another attention-seeking nutcase. He can not possibly have believed he would not be identified.
Antiquesaving
Well the fact he used FAX is perhaps part of the reason he couldn't work,
Sounds like he doesn't have the skills or knowledge to function in the 21st century.
Mr Kipling
I fully support the death penalty in Japan... It's just not used enough!