Man arrested for wielding knife at Roppongi Hills

Do we really need to argue whether a 3 month contract is the same as a permanent contract?

And isn't this all kinda missing the point that some freaking psycho ran around a crowded area with a knife?

Hell, what about us gaijin living here? I wonder how we will fit into this equation. I also have more than several months stashed and some emergency credit cards which I never use. Still I wonder if it will be enough. I guess several months of cup of noodles only and extra saving will be my New Year Resolution. Oh, don't forget watching my back on the streets.

THis dude is only the "tip of the iceberg" there will be thousands and thousands of angry Japanese, having lost their jobs, their dignity etc..and I am sure very, very frustrated, thank god, buddha etc..he did not hurt anybody!

Living paycheck-to-paycheck when on short contracts is definitely not a good idea, which is why I've always had about 3 months pay stashed away as an "emergency fund". Seems like a lot of people live very close to the breadline though, even if they don't have families to support.

if you depend on 3 month contracts to pay a mortgage or 2-3 year lease, its always good to have a backup plan, especially these days...

there's always the host clubs in Shinjuku, any of you men could make a killing out there.

Not having your contract renewed= laid off.

I was working on 3-month contracts which had previously had been consistently renewed, but was suddenly told that I along with all other part-time staff would not be having my contract renewed as of December, a situation I see as being very close if not identical to being laid off. I had seen it coming luckily and had already found a replacement job.

The NHK news which I am watching now is referring to people who have not had their contracts renewed as "laid off workers", so I think I'm correct in saying that the Roppongi guy was also laid off.

The dude didn't get "Laid Off" his contract ended. He should have seen it coming.

BBLeo, are you serious? "Can you blame him?" Yes, I certainly can. Being laid off doesn't give one the right to go around threatening other people's lives. I have also lost my main source of income as of December because the company I worked for has let all non-permanent staff go due to their financial situation. However, I didn't feel the need to head to a public place with a knife, as I can think of more constructive things to do to improve my situation.

Where people get the idea that killing/injuring random people is a good solution for their woes I will never understand.

Tuesday? I was there looking at the light show. Must have been before it happened.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Have none of you fired any type of handgun? Even with the antique keisatsu revolvers, I'd be happy to send one or two to the guy's limbs. Worst case scenario is that you miss, and it's crunch time, you still have four to end it. (RIP Sean Bell).

My temp worker contract expired in mid-December. I wanted to frighten people with a knife and make a scene

No way no chance do I believe this is an accurate translation of what was said. Sounds like something Mr. Cleaver would tell the cops.

yes, i'd also like to know more about the warning shot. do police really fire into the ground? isn't that precisely what killed the teenager in Greece a few weeks ago that then set off massive riots? but if they fire it into the air, the bullet has to come down some time, and thus isn't there a danger of it striking someone?--especially in a big city like Tokyo.

BlackFlag, no law enforcement agency trains their peeps to shoot someone in the "knee" or legs. That's a story for children.

sarcasm, irony, comedy....kita koto ga nai desho

He probably fired into the air, which reminds me of a scene from the movie 'The Mexican' with Brad Pitt. - It just proves the effectiveness of non-deadly weapons like tazers. Yes, I know there have been people accidently killed by tazers, but they would all be dead if they had been shot with a bullet, right? If there is a country with a need for the police force to have tazers, Japan is it!

The police officer fired a warning shot... but a shot of what? I don't think they mentioned a gun.

This could be some new Roppongi thing at the police-style love hotels:

Lady: "My company fired me, I can't wear this uniform any more!"

Man: "Oh yes baby"... and fires a "warning shot"

buriyama19,

A warning shot into the ground in front of them would ricochet (as the ground is probably concrete at Roppongi Hills) and go who knows where. I suppose our police friend could have run around looking for a planter and fired into that, but would that frighten the knife wielder?

Non-fictional police usually fire warning shots into the ground in front of them, don't they.

a police officer fired a warning shot, police said Wednesday.

maybe the editor failed to say they fired the warning shot into his knee

A warning shot in the leg? Huh? I've seen double speak on these Kyodo reports but this is mad?

"My company fired me"

Boo hoo, little cry baby J-guys. The impotent fury of the powerless. Company did you (and itself) a favour, you clown. A job you hated, for a company that sucks, for money thats a pittance. Get over it, move on, do something else. And stop buying your old company`s products. If everyone stopped buying the products of the companies laying people off, that would hurt the companies.

Can you blasme him? He lost his job, and it will be perhaps for a while to get another job. Question; 'why was he fired from his emnployment?

There is the possibility that the first two or three chambers are loaded with blanks for just such eventualities.

Maybe he fired it into the air?

This is just a tip of the iceberg in whats to come in the new year.

Tis the season to be jolly. Fa-la-la-la, la-la-la! All the nutters come out at Christmas!

It sounded like the J cop missed his target and to save face, he called it a warning shot. Most law enforcement agencies are trained to use deadly force when their life is at risk.

BlackFlag, no law enforcement agency trains their peeps to shoot someone in the "knee" or legs. That's a story for children.

It's purely "center of mass" until the threat is ended.

maybe the editor failed to say they fired the warning shot into his knee

"My company fired me!" The new catchphrase and/or famous last words for every knife-wielding maniac in 2009!

after a police officer fired a warning shot, police said Wednesday

Unbelievable this knucklehead firing a gun in such a densely populated area... This is beyond stupid!!!

It's one thing if they are going to fire a Taser gun at the guy, or shoot him with a bean-bag from a shot gun, but incredibly stupid to fire a hand gun....

Almost no country in the world still fires warning shots, except maybe in Iraq or some of the third world countries...

I'm still trying to imagine where he aimed the gun and fired... There's almost no where you can shoot without not hitting something...

You see most hand gun caliber ammo, doesn't stop after it hits something, for example, if you shot a hand gun in an apartment, most likely (unless you have concrete walls) the projectile will penetrate the first wall, go into the next apartment, go through that wall, and probably a third wall before expending all of its velocity.

I am surprised no one was hurt or killed as a result of this knucklehead... Stupid, Stupid, Stupid...!!!

And JN police have those extra-large handling poles.... If they really want to be non-lethal, Why in the Frick did they not use something like that... Or pepper-spray...?

"Sounds like his company made the right decision"

That sounds like a fair assessment.

Ronin - Har!

I was wondering about that warning shot myself. Bullets, much to the surprise of New Year's party-goers, go down as well as up (if the police officer fired a warning shot in the air) and if he shot it down, well, ricochets abound and don't stop when they hit their first hard object. Or second. And sometimes third (unless it's soft, such as a human body.)

after a police officer fired a warning shot

Into what? Tokyo is kind of a densly-packed place to be firing off warning shots.

Sounds like his company made the right decision. Thanks to the Japanese Police, nobody was hurt by this looney.