A 25-year-old man is in a coma after he and a friend were attacked while they were walking along a street in Fujisawa, Kanagawa Prefecture, on Sunday morning.
According to police, the incident occurred at around 2:10 a.m. TBS reported that the man and his friend were attacked by three men. One man suffered light injuries, while his 25-year-old friend was beaten about the head and face. He was taken to hospital where he remains in a coma, police said.
Police quoted the victim's friend as saying they didn't know any of the gang who appeared to be in their 20s.
© Japan Today
33 Comments
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oldman_13
Japan not as safe as some would have us believe I think. At least not like before.
lucabrasi
@oldman
You may be right. But would you rather wander the streets of Manchester (UK) than Fukuoka at 3 am?
I know which I'd choose....
StormR
Cowards have strength in numbers, "A Gang Attacked", you hardly never read one person attacked a Gang do you.
Gutless b!tches need to be caught and I hope they are.
GalapagosnoGairaishu
I've been here a long time, and I've been reading news stories about melees and rumbles and brawls since I first came here. It's not new, not even recent.
LordPounce
Oldman
Are you sure about that? I have not looked at detailed figures charting violent crime in Japan over the years. You may very well be right that it's gotten more dangerous but if you don't have the statistics to back it up don't make the mistake of thinking that one incident is necessarily indicative of changing trends.
And I agree with Lucabrasi. Safety is relative. No place on earth is absolutely safe so we can only compare with other places and Japan still comes out well ahead of most places. My hometown of Vancouver is not a particularly dangerous place but I still feel more secure in Osaka.
Moderator
Readers, stay on topic please. Comparisons with other countries' crime rates are not relevant to this discussion.
John Galt
No shortage of punk-a$$ yak-wannabes in most city areas, especially in the wee hours.
I hope the young man recovers and the punks get theirs.
sillygirl
We will be reading more and more of this type of incident as the youth become more disenfranchised.
toshiko
Just don"t walk on any streetmidnight. Wait until sunshine comes out.
xrc
I think the "Commie" or countries run by the military such as (Laos & Myanmar) are almost crime free... Don't get caught stealing in Myanmar..a quick end to life....Never had one instance of fear. America is the Crime capital of the world...How much is wasted on protection? More than they could fund college education and free medical treatment hospital combined.... schools, airports, museums???? Trust, there is No trust there anymore...That's why people think they need guns. Do you living in Japan need a gun? Sure wouldn't walk some cities in the US at night...(I would) but most wouldn't....
Boomtower14
Crazy! I used to live around that area and was on vacation there just a week ago. Hard to imagine it could happen. But as someone said there are plenty of those punk kids that all dress the same and think they are tough.
Mirai Hayashi
pack of cowards
redfender
Eventhough it is relatively safe in Kanagawa there are some spooky lookin dudes runnin around here. Have caught dirty looks before from possibly types like them when I was by myself. Was out numbered so had no other choice than to beat feet. Could have made Carl Lewis blush.
Disillusioned
Is 3 a gang? I would have thought it was a group. Three on two doesn't seem such bad odds. Hope he got a few good ones in before he got knocked out.
Latpoypoy
Walking at 2 am? either they went from a Isakaya or Omise then got in trouble with the other team...
nath
I think Japanese are just holding it all in. Also, for all the success of Abenomics, I have seen an upswing in violent crime. I dont know the reasons for it, but there must be allot of people in different classes reacting.
DudeDeuce
Please give examples of how you felt your life was in danger here. I really never felt threatened when being stared at, said "hello" to, or not being given a flyer because the flyer boy/girl was either shy or thought I couldn't understand Japanese.
slumdog
I feel sorry for you. I don't think I would ever willingly stay in a place I did not feel safe in. For the record, I think Japan is easily one of the safest countries in the world, even today. Still, it never hurts to take common sense precautions.
Could you share your reasons for feeling so on edge all the time? I can't imagine it in Japan.
nath
Because in my country Im a brother, a son, a known member of a community , a human etc. In Japan Im a gaijin; first and foremost. This puts me in a different catagory when walking alone at night. Shifty eyes and remarks lead to confrontations. I dont touch it.
Many Japanese live in stuffed boxes known as mansions they go out at night to become modern day rojin and make trouble. Many are already insolent, and rise to the occasion to "release" their inhibitions on the foriegner.
So, you will inform us you have never had such an experience. Good on you, but I go with what works for me.
bass4funk
I feel very safe, I'm also big guy, I never back down and I do martial arts and I will say this, there have been people in the past that have tried to test me and size me up or some guys thinking that for some self-conscious, self-centered complex that they have to prove something to the gaijin man that they are tough individuals as to why some of them want to convey this message is beyond me, but beside the teeny, tiny verbal exchange in my 13 years in Japan nothing.
nath
In the countryside, it is very safe. Very safe and beautiful place. The occasional bozozuku might gather, make trouble, otherwise very quite and boring.
Ive had many Japanese males test me. Its just part of the bully culture. It seems juvenile for an adult to do such things, but its just how it is here.
Its best just to avoid the whole scene of possible, find ways to keep yourself entertained.
Theo Lubbe
@Mods/Article author, any chance you guys will be able to keep track of this case with the police, or do they not submit to the public information on their investigations?
smithinjapan
The police really need to up and do their jobs and crack down on this garbage. It would NOT be difficult, by any means -- I literally see wannabe yaks riding their scooters (as if they weren't loser enough!) with two or three people, no helmets (or helmets hanging off the back of their heads and only the tie around their throats keeping it from falling!), speeding, ignoring lights and every other rule, and the police do NOTHING. I'm not at all for the gung-ho US cops that shoot anything that doesn't have their hands at 10 and 2 when pulled over, but do SOMETHING about these moronic gangs instead of the "wait until it hits murder".
trinklets2
One of the reasons I turned down the job sked from six pm to three am. Just imagine walking alone on those wee hrs along rice paddies. Iam jobless again now! Sigh!
nyunt_shwe
This kind of news needs follow up and I hope we could hear that the gang was unearthed, arrested, tried, and severely punished, at least for life in prison. This is not 19 century, but 21 st. Damn them!!!
Kei Kurooka
i feel secure anywhere in Japan. lived in tokyo, osaka, and now living in suburban city in chiba for almost twenty years now and no problems but the bosuzoku ..motorcycle riding teens, but very rare in the middle of the night with police car chasing them down.
JA_Cruise
damn, poor guy. Hope they catch these heartless wimps. They are lucky they did not cross my path.
Knox Harrington
How so?
Again, I will (partly) have to side with 5petals. I feel pretty safe almost everywhere but I am not naive enough to not understand that this BS 'safety' image many people carry about Japan is just that. BS. Alcohol is one factor, just as in many other countries. The difference, however, is that in Japan, I feel there are so many supressed emotions that people are too cowered into expressing in daily life and so, when they drink a little, slightest perceived argument becomes too big a thing.
Also, contrary to many other foreigners, I don't feel Japanese are particularly friendly or caring and if stuff goes down, they won't help out. That, to me, is scary as hell.
KnowBetter
I feel safe at night walking around Japan from the Kanto area to the Kansai area. I don't fear the bad a$$ wannabes but I do fear the crazy cab drivers late at night when it appears there's no one on the road and they drive on both sides of the road. Been stopped a few times while walking home at night by the J Cops and asked for my Passport or gaijin card but when I slowly open my wallet and they see my Japanese driver's licence, it's all apologies and good night. Japan is as safe as you're going to get when you have SO MANY PEOPLE CRAMMED INTO SUCH A SMALL SPACE.
nath
Safety in Japan is relative. You probably never going to get robbed, your house broken into, etc. In fuedal times, punishment for such behavior was severe, and there is still a residue of the fuedal era in Japan. Many Japanese people, however, are very capable of violence. When riding the train, they are practicing mushin, or self introspection and will not dare look at another in the eye. They seem to be in a constant battle of mental warfare with each other. Many of them are quite skilled in judo, karate etc. Its part of the bushido code, to improve oneself and be at the ready. If you have ever participated in any karate tournament, you will know that it is a very violent event. It is my understanding that the karate taught abroad is not the same as the original karate from Okinawa. The original karate was extremely violent, used against the satusma samurai who also used violence to rule their subjects in Okinawa.
Japan has a long history of violence but also benevolence. It takes many years to understand that everything in Japan is not what it seems.
lucabrasi
@5petals
While it may be true that many Japanese are karate-trained and capable of extreme violence, the point is that it very rarely happens....
Back home in England, many people are experts in the arts of kicking, head-butting and biting.
And it happens every Friday and Saturday night....
Give me Japan, any day.
Alex Einz
2 on 3 is hardly a violent gang attack ... Japan is safe as most places, just project confidence and dont be scared if you get looks - look back ,do grown man really need to be taught how to treat bullies haha?