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A woman hitchhiker was seriously injured after being stabbed by a man who picked her up in his car in Nankoku, Kochi Prefecture, on Sunday.
According to police, the woman, who is a university student in her 20s, came from another prefecture, and hitched a ride in the morning. At around 11:45 a.m., the woman told police the man stopped the car and threatened her with a knife, Fuji TV reported. When she resisted his advances, he stabbed her in the stomach. She managed to get out of the car and call for help from a passerby.
The man fled the scene. The woman was taken to hospital but her wound is not life-threatening, police said.
Police said the owner of the car, a 37-year-old man, turned himself in to police on Sunday night.
© Japan Today
16 Comments
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Mocheake
So many people out there just waiting to prey on someone. I wouldn't intentionally hitchhike but if I absolutely had to, I would have to be carrying some kind of weapon. Even as a fairly strong guy, I wouldn't get into any stranger's car without at least some kind of makeshift weapon(s). Hope they catch this creep soon and she makes a full and quick recovery.
Legrande
Yet another attempted rape. There are many more not reported here.
jojo_in_japan
I grew up in the Ted Bundy era .... we were taught to NEVER HITCH HIKE
Monozuki
Good thing she luckily escaped death. Hope she will recover from injury soon and get back on her feet.
Sal Affist
Think about it. He was in his own car, which is the easiest way to find him if he left his rape victim alive. ["Officer, his license plate was ta 1234"!] That means he wasn't planning on leaving her alive after he was done with her.
He won't be able to evade police for long - but I bet he kills himself before they apprehend him.
serendipitous1
How do we know it was his own car?
Zaphod
Wow, I did not even know they have hitchhikers in Japan!
I did hichhike here about 30 years ago, and it was a weird experience. People were extremely friendly, but most of them had never seen a hitchhiker and did not really know the concept.
I suppose Japan is one of the last countries where hitchhiking alone for women can even be considered, but even here it is not without risk.
Baradzed
Hitchhiking in your 20s is cool but I am surprised it is practiced in Japan.
3RENSHO
A 37-year-old suspect, KITAOKA Takuya has been arrested a few hours ago. Hitch-hiking is not widely practiced in Japan; it is more likely the suspect spotted the woman walking beside the road and stopped to offer her a ride in his car.
Toshihiro
I hitchiked once in Japan and I rode on back of those small trucks just because it was already late and buses in the area already stopped. I'm thankful for that. But I agree with the commenters above me, hitch hiking is dangerous.
Freddy Freeway
Hitchhiker in the corona era? STRANDED!
trinklets2
@3rensho, that's the problem when a lady gives in to an invite from esp a JMan. It seems like they thought that the heavens must be so nice to them for delivering such a cutie romping mate! Answering positively from an invite right away means more on intimacy for most of them. Even if they're just offering a cup of coffee!
sir_bentley28
Now I know Japan may be safe, but it ain't THAT safe for a young woman in her 20s to go hitch hiking alone!
shogun36
I was going to say, why would anyone hitchhike, especially in 2020, but then I saw this,
ok, now I understand.
Roten
I've both hitchhiked and picked up Japanese hitchhikers throughout Japan from Hokkaido through Kyushu. It helps if, as a gaijin, one has a sign with the direction of travel written on it. My longest set of rides was from Beppu to Nagoya.