Violent game launch canceled after Akihabara rampage; gov't discusses regulations on knives

Regulation on possession of knives? Great - professional cooks and people who like to prepare their food at home will surely be delighted. Oh wait, we have no record of anyone ever using a kitchen knife to commit a crime, so that's ok - my fault...

here it comes... once again the focus is in totally the wrong direction.. mental illness you muppets was the cause of this. How about directing your concerns to this area instead of sweeping it under the tatami mat!!

Health, Labor and Welfare Minister Yoichi Masuzoe told reporters after the meeting, ‘‘It’s not that temporary employment is all bad, but we discussed we should keep in mind that problems exist...'

Does this mean that temporary employment is just 'mostly bad'? Seriously, something needs to be done about regulating these 'temporary employment agencies'. Almost all major companies employing their services are doing so for the sole purpose of reducing wages and denying benefits. There is no reason that a major company like Meiden (for example) would have 80% of their factory staff provided by temp agencies (thats 1000s of people). This is a giant loophole in the employment laws of Japan that needs to be closed.

3 people were killed when the truck was intentionally crashed into them. Why aren't eight cabinet ministers convening to discuss regulating the possession of trucks. It seems equally illogical.

Hughgarse - precisely. But hey, knee-jerk reactions are so much better, aren't they? A psycho kills people in a swimming pool? Quick, let's control everyone who owns a firearm! A psycho stabs random people on the street? Quick, let's try to control knifes!

This kind of behavior is common all over the world, unfortunately. A psycho tries to smuggle a bomb in his shoes and is caught without any special security measures? Quick, let's make everyone take their shoes off before boarding the plane! A group of psychos planning to blow up a plane with liquid explosives is caught without any special security measures (let's assume it's true and that producing a liquid explosive in a lavatory is even feasible. I know, requires suspension of disbelief of epic proportions, but let's just try)? Quick, let's ban water!

I know humans are illogical almost by definition, but the lack of common sense in recent times is simply staggering...

we should keep in mind that problems exist and that we should steadily work on the mental health care of the victims’ families.’’

This isn't bad but it's aimed in the wrong direction. The victims' families need help, yes, but the criminal needed help a long time ago and for a long time. Maybe the Health, Labor, and Welfare minister should look into that first part of his job description.

I believe that out of respect for the victims this was the right thing to do. Its just respecting victims. It would be a little off to release it or even play it right now, and not feel a little sick whilst on a stabbing rampage in a video game.

That's right folks. Knives don't kill people. People kill people!

I think it would be reasonable to outlaw at least daggers. Knifes of course have all sorts of practical usages, but do daggers have any other function than killing? I can`t think of one.

They would do better to discuss the implementation of street bollards to stop vehicles from using the streets on pedestrian only days. Works in the UK.

here it comes... once again the focus is in totally the wrong direction.. mental illness you muppets was the cause of this. How about directing your concerns to this area instead of sweeping it under the tatami mat!!

i agree 110%, but that will cost the government more money.

They would do better to discuss the implementation of street bollards to stop vehicles from using the streets on pedestrian only days. Works in the UK.

another one on the ball.

both you guys should be in government.

Standard Political Procedure:

1) APPEAR to do something. (the "what" is irrelevant, the point is APPEAR to be concerned)

2) Talk ENDLESSLY about it, appoint a special committee is public outrage is sufficient.

3) Dither, dither, blah, blah, blah.

End result is no result. But if called to task, you can claim you DID something.

The National Police Agency said there were 67 multiple street stabbings over the past decade, the highest number—10—in 1998. There were four attacks in 2006, but that jumped to eight last year.

So stabbings are down. Panic, everyone!

Similar to the TBS drama thing, good move on the part of the game company. (anybody care to say it is just a move for brownie points?)

As far as the cabinet ministers discussing ways to regulate knives..in a way don't they already regulate cutlery? That whole thing about no imports of katanas and whatnot... I will say that regulating cutlery would get into a lot of diffficulty. There would HAVE to be exceptions out the wazoo, so much so that the idea would be nearly pointless. I think they are trying to look at a symptom instead of the disease.

Konami is just interested in to cash and obviously they should have taken their finger out of the game. It's not that even 1000Konami ego stabbing-shooting games would pose a problem, the japanese DVD, Anime, Manga and older games have enough evil inside to ruin the world . .so what the hell Konami.

Anyway, Kato is a poor bastard and he payed back to every body what he thinks has been done wrong to him. What completely surpasses his own intentions are the chainreactions of power demonstrations by the political and economical authorities in japan now! By sending a message that the japanese society has some very bad rotten parts, Kato contribuated to actually blur that awefull situation a bit more . . .

They should let a TV-Team interview Kato and let him cry out every thing , then let the public have a transpearant view of what is wrong with Kato and the society he/we live in!!!

Problem of temporary employment system is not only cause of social illness but also cause of declining of industry. It is difficult to teach know-how of manufacture to young factory workers under temporary employment system. In near future Japan's superiority of industry will collapse.

we should steadily work on the mental health care of the victims’ families.

Wouldn't it make more sense to steadily work on the mental health care of the general public in order to prevent this kind of sadistic crime and, lord forbid, lower the suicide rate? Though, that's just my opinion.

Treat the cause of the disease, not the the symptoms. I wish someone could ask these cabinet ministers how knife regulation would have stopped the guy driving his truck into a crowd. What he'd used a pointy stick or a big pencil? Would they ban writing instruments?

expect many meaningless knee jerk reactions to attempt a facade of safety until everyone gets back to not caring at all next month. 2 very elderly security guards were patrolling the station where I live today but doing nothing about the guy who stood on the platform and hit himself on the head repeatedly for 10 minutes, I kid you not. but hey, they had nice rent-a-cop uniforms and a mindless idiot with a weapon would be no match for a 70 year old in white gloves and epaulets.

There is never a perfect or all encompassing solution to such an incident. I for one think having identified this guys mental state far in advance and intervention could have helped. Even his mother did not know how to deal with him. She acknowledge the change but nothing was done. Even the teacher interviewed sounded emotionless when discussing him as though he was some trash to be thrown away. Poeple in teaching jobs showed be supportive not like this. Mothers/fathers should have access to agencies that can help them. Knife regulations will not help, because in the end if someone wants a knife to commit a crime they will find one.

This sounds like it's going to head in the wrong direction like the time of the gas attacks. So the gov is considering controlling knives this time? Just like last time when they removed every trash barrel in the city. As if everyone will suddenly start copying what one guy did. Just wait a few months, wanna buy a new kitchen knife? You'll have to go through a strip search and interrogation first. The gov is handling this so wrong...

metal gear got canceled??? lol sad, so many fans were looking forward to this piece of art. they better not cancel street fighter 4 because vega/balrog has somewhat of a knife

The GAME itself wasn't cancelled. Launch events for MGS 4 were cancelled, that's all. The game is still scheduled for its release.

Haha! That's great! Yes, let's cancel a launch event for the one war game that actually REWARDS the player for taking non-lethal measures and oozes pacifist themes.

Meanwhile tell Mr. and Mrs. Kato to bow their heads a few centimeters lower and it might help bring back those 7 people.

Konami canceled the events with the “safety of participants in mind,” though similar events in the U.S. were to proceed as planned, a spokesman said on condition of anonymity, citing company rules.

I won't call it as "safety of participants in mind" - looks more like "a sensitive period" to be taken care of. Given similarity to those animes - being postponed due to certain events. E.g Higurashi Kai

and yea, i found this statement to be pretty amusing

Prior to the meeting, Machimura told a press conference, ‘‘There are surprisingly many types of knives marketed in the world. We would like to discuss how to deal with it.’

ermm, yes and so? knife is not the only weapon you can use in this world? hehz.

Yesterday I felt a strange and somehow more comfortable walking around Tokyo than on previous days. Almost like a collective pressure bubble had burst after a storm, and people were more humanized. Prior to the recent catastrophe, I was getting bumped daily by every group of person you could name, and on one particular occasion was attacked with straightarms to the chest from one guy in Shibuya trying to make a point of taking "right of way" as he darted out of a train. Yesterday, I felt, "well to xxxx with them", I'm as exhausted as the next bloke, I have paid plenty in taxes recently (a whole month worth of salary), there's a seat available, I'm going to sit, and I'm going to close my eyes and rest till my stop comes. I just stopped caring about being so yielding to everyone. Just fitting in with the flow of the hordes. And again, for whatever reason, the masses seemed to soften up in reflection as to what happened.

The Govt should put more into trying to help mentally effected people, people without jobs & such, rather then possibly a ban on knives which will never work.

Mind you I doubt if unemployeed people or mentally disturbed people can be helped for one never knows if they fail to take their medications or said medications are wrong for them.

It is a strange world out there & unfortunately we live in it, even if we do not live in said so called dangerous places for they can always change in Japan or different countries.

This is typical "treat the symptoms and not the cause" behavior. Things will only get worse. Typical western thinking from a so called eastern society.

S

Why are the same questions asked over and over again? You can't fix this type of problem after the fact. There will always be wackos in our societies, no matter how hard we try to intervene or understand what the "causes" of their sickness are. Wackos intent on harming others will ALWAYS find something to use as a weapon...truck, knife, gun, sarin gas, poisoned curry, gravity, dish towels, baseball bats, golf clubs, etc.

The impotence of the law proved itself once again. Criminals don't care about the laws. There were already laws on the books restricting the carrying of a knife of a certain size with no "due reason". Murder and manslaughter by motor vehicle are likewise already prohibited. Did it stop him?

The problem is this. Most want to believe that laws alone will make them safe with absolutely no personal responsibility for their own protection. It's convenient to live with the illusion that one's safety is being handled by someone else. But reality shows us once again that it isn't. The fact that Japan has made non-lethal self defense tools like mace and pepper spray illegal to carry by ordinary people shows just how far into their fog of unconsciousness they actually are. Just look at how quickly the Akihabara wacko was disarmed once he was confronted with force and the threat of deadly force. It's only conjecture on my part to assume that several of his victims could have been spared their fate if someone had intervened sooner, but I have a hard time imagining otherwise.

Machimura told a press conference, ‘‘There are surprisingly many types of knives marketed in the world. We would like to discuss how to deal with it.’’

Wow what an Einstein 'many types of knives'!

I wonder how their deliberations will go?

Bureaucrat: This pointy thing is a knife. This long thing with a zig-zag edge is also a knife - a 'Bread Knife'. This little thing has some knives and other things inside it - it's a 'Pen Knife'. This....yadda-yadda-yadda

Cabinet Secretary: They're all so dangerous - let's ban them!

APismoClam - Amen. I really couldn't have said it any better. Great post!

How about banning psychotic people!!

Knives don't kill people, psychos do!