A 45-year-old electronics professor at Chuo University in Tokyo's Bunkyo Ward was stabbed to death on Wednesday, police said. Hajime Takakubo, who taught in the department of Electrical, Electronic, and Communication Engineering, was found bleeding with more than 10 stab wounds to his chest, back and hands in a toilet around 10:30 a.m. by a student who alerted a security officer. Takakubo was taken to hospital but died about one hour later.
Several people witnessed a man in his 30s, wearing a black coat and black cap, leave the toilet just before the victim was found, police said.
The weapon used to attack the professor has yet to be found, police said.
Takakubo was found lying in the bathroom on the fourth floor of the No. 1 building of the university's Korakuen Campus, and the man ran from there, police and school officials said.
Takakubo's office is on the same floor and he was expected to give a lecture at 10:40 a.m.
An acquaintance of Takakubo's appeared shocked by the incident, saying, ''He was a gentle person and not the kind who has arguments with others.''
A sophomore who came to the campus to attend Takakubo's class said, ''He was always smiling and I have never heard that he was involved in trouble.''
Takakubo was an expert in electronic circuits used in televisions and mobile phones.
© News reports
27 Comments
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TokyoGas
Wow. Crazy season seems to be continuing.
Altria
Come on JT, what did this guy teach?
tmarie
Jesus. I guess I can offically laugh at the Japanese when they bleat on and on abdout "gaikoku" being dangerous. I have to say though many Japanese folks I've spoken with are alarmed at just how dangerous this country has become over the past few years.
I'm assuming Taro wasn't happy with his grade?? Or maybe he didn't the job he wanted and blames this guy?? Options are endless for excuses.
timorborder
This sounds a bit like the Japanese academic who translated Rushdie's "Satanic Verses" into Japanese. He was stabbed to death a number of years ago, I believe by persons unknown.
Altria
Ok, looks like he was in the electrical engineering department...disgruntled student?
If he was a history professor there might be a few more suspects.
30061015
Is this just another typical news day in Japan?
josebove
"Is this just another typical news day in Japan?" Well, it's another typical news day on JT, anyway.
sabiwabi
Maybe he just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Were any of his students missing that day?
borscht
If most universities are any indication, yes. But that has no relation to who might've killed him.
I wonder if he bled to death. (As opposed to having an organ sliced up.) If he bled to death it might be because the ambulance paramedics didn't give him a transfusion and waited until he got to the hospital. Even if they did, it might've been too late.
sabiwabi
Based on what? I think Japanese Universities have in general high attendance.
Anyway, if this was a disgruntled student, he would most likely have been recognized by classmates. My guess is that this was a thief who got caught. Universities have lots of expensive equipment and low security. Either that or a sicko who just wanted to kill someone.
Jesus4japan2
Jesus had nothing to do with it.
seesaw
It's a planned murder. The man knows the Professor's movement well.
sk4ek
Didn't something similar take place at another university in the middle of last year? Even the "black coat and cap" description sounds familiar.
BBLeo
A black coat and black cap leave the toilet... Cops could see if there are any fingerprints in the toilet to trace suspect down. This sure is premeditated murder. Lat was a similar case of another professor being killed by the same description of clothing. Could that also be another 'industrial espionage?' Or someone want to borrow his brains for a while.
kwatt
Whoever it is, that guy is badly so mad at him.
seggahme
someone didn't pass his exams.
Hotbox08
Wow! A lot of offbase comments, but not one single word of condolence for this guy. Let me be the first then. RIP Professor Takakubo. May your attacker be caught and run through the mills for the heinous crime they have just committed.
ambrosia
sabiwabi: And on what are you basing your opininions? I've got loads of friends who teach at universities in Japan and they've said quite the opposite. Attendance is rather miserable and it's difficult to reprimand the students or fail them, even at the better universities due to the way universities look at students as customers rather than students who bear some responsibility for what they learn. As for whether or not other students would have recognized a disgruntled student that would depend on whether or not they'd taken classes with him, when he was a student, if they hung out in the same circles, etc. Either way, this is an awful story and I hope the killer is caught a.s.a.p. My condolences to the man's family.
pizzaboy
tmarie: I have to say though many Japanese folks I've spoken with are alarmed at just how dangerous this country has become over the past few years.
$$$ based on what, reading the news? I live in, yes, the big S, Saitama, and have yet to ever witness anything bad and that is after having lived here for over 8 years and I don't live in the countryside. If you read the news enough it's gonna lead you to think the whole world is evil when it actually makes up much less that 1% of the population.
Nessie
Other than Saitama, of course.
Mex
I have been teaching in Japan, for 15 years in a university in the north part, and I always find that the teacher are the least protectect by the university, if you say something to the studentes, is consider "power harasment" or "akahara" "academic harasment"if you say "atama warui" to make them feel that they have to study, to improve, they can sue you, so you have to say.."atama ga yokunai" and so on....think this they paid more or less "hyaku goyu maen" if you have more than 100 students in one class, make the math, and the class is about lengages........pore guy! and he was all smile!!! So you have to learn to say "wakarimashita", and give up! you want to know which university is?
bamboohat
Glad to see the students were on the ball and ran to campus security. I suppose calling the paramedics directly, or actually maybe trying to stop the bleeding would have been too much to ask.
I suppose it's important to follow the correct procedure, and go through the proper chain of command, regardless if somebody is bleeding to death.
Philmoscowitz
Sabiwabi, it's a well known fact that class attendance at Japanese universities is extremely low compared to American, Canadian, and British universities--i can't speak for any other country's schools. anyway, witnesses said the suspect appeared to be in his 30s so it's unlikely he was a student. i wouldn't be surprised if it turned out that this poor fellow had massive debts (with yakuza loan sharks) which he couldn't pay off.
Betting
I wouldn't be surprised at all that most guesses about the cause of the murder are highly suspect themselves.
bushlover
They need to BAN GUNS NOW!!! Come on everyone. get on the bandwagon and start saying it. "People don't kill people. Guns do." </end sarcasm>
sabiwabi
I am basing it on my own experience. During my entire University studies in the west, I have never seen a prof taking attendance. Students chose to attend. My experience in Japanese Universities tell me that profs take attendance and it contributes to their grades. And in a few cases, I have been told that students are not allowed to miss more than 2 classes, without a valid excuse. Anyway, I was told that was typical for Japanese Universities.
Khuniri
As a professor at a Japanese university, with several friends at Chuo, I am horrified by the murder of this gentle scholar. Social and cultural generalizations are and will be quite meaningless - at least until the circumstances are clarified...There's a lot wrong with higher education in most parts of the world, including Japan, where passivity, it seems to me, is the long-standing problem, along with a "hierarchy" obsession. (I teach in an elite institution, so this is not sour grapes.) But for now let us grieve - and wait...