Police in Funabashi, Chiba Prefecture, have arrested a 25-year-old unemployed woman who ran in the city’s assembly election last month, on suspicion of obstructing business after she posted on Twitter that she would attack Funabashi Station with sarin nerve gas.
According to police, Miyuki Yamamoto posted the threat at around 11:30 a.m. on April 30. Kyodo News reported that it read: “At exactly 1 p.m. today, I will spray Funabashi Station with sarin nerve gas. I am the [Japanese Aum Shinrikyo cult leader] Shoko Asahara of the Reiwa Era. This is not a bluff.”
Police were notified of the threat after Twitter users who read the post contacted them. Officers were deployed to Funabashi Station on Sunday afternoon but nothing happened.
Police went to Yamamoto’s home and arrested her. Yamamoto unsuccessfully ran as an independent candidate for the Funabashi City assembly on April 23.
© Japan Today
21 Comments
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Mat
I don't know what is wrong with this person, but I feel it would take a team of experts some time to work that out.
Glad she didn't succeed in the election run, but the lack of background checks on candidates is somewhat worrying.
tamanegi
Unemployed
Yubaru
Another "entitled" child thinking that she is immune from taking responsibility for what she says.
OssanAmerica
What an exceptionally stupid thing to tweet in Japan. Glad they got her off the streets.
NipponGlory
An unemployed woman. Troublemaker and she must be punished to maximum laws.
shogun36
Wow..…she must have a lot of free time.
How do people have this much time to waste? Get a job, or 2 instead.
What a nut.
Minikaeru
She doesn't seem to be able to accept losing. At least she was arrested before actually doing anything
CPTOMO
Quick action by a highly trained police force, putting their skills into action in preparation for the G7 summit.
Mark
Thank for the heads up, now rest in JAIL.
virusrex
Hopefully much, much better than the terribly inept actions that allowed the bomb attempt on the life of the prime minister.
It is hard to be that bad at their jobs, at least this time they got the criminal, still took two days from the threat, even when the criminal was identified immediately.
nandakandamanda
R.I.P.
Rest in prison.
TrevorPeace
Charged with 'obstructing business'?? Does Japan not have a 'threat of terrorism' offence? If not, it certainly should!
Garthgoyle
Apparently, people made the right choice.
GBR48
Re: Charged with 'obstructing business'??
The police/courts do not have to prove intent or motive. Just that you did something which inconvenienced others (which almost any public act/police response does). They may add other charges later if it is worth the hassle.
kaimycahl
I think she did succeed instead of attacking Funabashi Station with sarin nerve gas she must have mistaken it with laughing gas. I am still laughing how dumb!
Sven Asai
Seems to be similar pattern to the pipe bomb wannabe candidate, who attacked the PM.
badman
Do any other countries describe criminals by their employment status?
Yubaru
Only said by someone who never lived through the times when it actually happened, and the real fear people felt at the time.
No one was laughing then, and no one in their right mind should be laughing now either. She chose a particularly painful incident, in relatively recent Japanese history, to instill fear in people. Using Matsumoto's "religious" name as well. That isn't humor, it's sick.
wallace
A very serious offense.
Yuuju
It seems like many Japanese take employment/unemployment as a root cause of all evil.
psychological issues exist in their own domain regardless of popular concepts. Unemployment is not a root rather a logical continuation of a mental illness.