Police in Wake, Okayama Prefecture, have arrested a 42-year-old unemployed man on suspicion of threatening a schoolgirl with a knife.
According to police, the incident occurred at around 4 p.m. on Saturday, Okayama TV reported. The girl was at the back of a line of about 10 children walking home from school. Police said the man, Takaharu Maeda, came up behind the girl, a senior elementary age child, and put his hand on her shoulder. He pointed a knife at her and told her to go with him.
The girl broke away from Maeda and was not harmed. A passerby called 110 and Maeda was arrested at the scene.
Police said Maeda and the girl did not know each other.
© Japan Today
19 Comments
Login to comment
snowymountainhell
Get this wacko from Wake off the streets for a long time!
snowymountainhell
Thank goodness this attempted abduction ended well, with the child having the good sense to break away and run.
Plus, due to the vigilance of another of Japan’s Good Samaritans having the fortitude to get involved, 42yo unemployed Takaharu Maeda was apprehended.
Restless
let’s be realistic
Like other fathers here, I would happily volunteer to make sure this perp did not miss out on any trips to and from jail, to court and to the hospital for any of your recommended therapy.
cognitive behavior therapy, no. Lock up and supervision, yes.
snowymountainhell
Agreed @nandakandamanda. Not so random. This is more than likely the escalation of some previous activity, giving him the false bravado to now act out in the open. Hopefully, he’ll be tripped up on his way to court and tell more of what he’s been up to.
Concerned Citizen
Whoever would traumatise a child like that deserves strict consequences.
Restless
let’s be realistic,
this was a failed child abduction where the child resisted, witnesses saw and called police. Are you saying there is a specific “disease”, an AMA-DSM identifiable mental disorder, for persons with a uncontrollable compulsion to threaten and scare children?
“Okay, what would you do if you were born with the compulsion to scare small children and you had little control over it, like a disease? Would you want to be locked up or would you want help?
Changes the perspective doesn't it?”
Nope, my perspective has not changed. Psychotropic drugs and “mindfulness practice” might sedate him while he’s being supervised but what if he goes off meds?
Instead, I would offer this perp some “physical therapy” as a future deterrent to his inclinations, if he’s not locked up for a long time.
And especially, if and when he repeats again. I would feel my child and Japan’s other children would be safer.
Too many missing kids in Japan.
Aly Rustom
Lock him up. Simple
nandakandamanda
Seems pretty random on the face of it. I wonder if he has done this before.
stormcrow
Send him to prison. That’ll make him think twice about scaring the hell out of school children.
Eastman
no mercy.
jail for long time.
Kyo wa heiwa dayo ne
@Letsberealistic
As usual your not being realistic !
This is Japan were talking about and not the USA.
I think pointing a knife at a schoolgirl and attempting to abduct her is much worse than being unskilled !
He deserves to be put away !
He had his chance to show his best.
BigP
He probably just wants to go to jail for his three square meals and a dry futon. It’s not like he tried to run away.
uaintseeme
The police respond quickly in this country.
elephant200
He watched too much porn!
Jay
Are they sure it wasn't a flip phone?