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If you saw someone you thought was murder suspect Tatsuya Ichihashi on the street, in a restaurant or on a train, for example, realistically speaking, what would you do?

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what a dumb question -- call the police, whatelse would you do.

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It truly is a ridiculous question. If it really was him, we should all souround(sic) him and do a citizens arrest. By all, I mean Japanese nationals too. One rotten apple spoils the whole bunch.

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i guarntee he is walking with surgical mask. if he is wearing one, this question is frivoulous.

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First of all, I would make sure he's the right guy. I will call out his name many times. If he runs or moves quickly I would capture him. He has the body of a skinny junior high school girl. So i would literally carry him to the police station tied up/ knocked out/ bruised and bloody/ a couple of teeth missing/ whatever kind of retaliation he does.

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Nothing, I am face blind.

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Call the police I guess...

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follow him back to his hideout/lair and the call the media from my mobile phone to negotiate the price. once i've collected my money, fade into thin air and let the media deal with the cops. safely, contentedly spend my ill-gotten gains @ RAKUTEN's website or Seijo Ishii.

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He is also worth a bit of money so it would be a good idea to call 110 even if it takes a while to communicate. If it's safe to do so follow him.

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I'd call cops on my mobile and take him down and sit on him until cops arrive.

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Call out "♪Tat-chan♪", and if he turns around punch him in the face.

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I normally have my 2 year old with me, and I don't speak Japanese, so my reaction would have to be determined by other circumstances.

If there was barely anyone around, I'd pretend not to notice him. I'd try to remember his clothing and general appearance and make a note of it at the first opportunity. I'd get my hubby to call the cops later, because no matter what anyone claims I'd bet they'd never have an English speaker available when you need one.

If there were many people around, I'd make sure we were at least a few metres away from him and then I'd shout his name J-style "Ichihashi Tatsuya!" and point. If he ran it'd surely be certain it was him. If he came for us I'd try to put a few Japanese people in between us and him. If he just looked somewhat surprised it'd probably be someone else anyway but I'd let the Japanese deal with it.

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My first instinct of course is to call the cops. But I must admit I have a (probably unfounded) suspicion that any call from a foreigner reporting this wouldn't be treated with the seriousness and immediacy that a call from a Japanese person would.

soooo

If I was with my wife or another Japanese friend, I'd probably ask them to call the cops instead.

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The fact that a gaijin attacked a Japanese would bring the cops running like speeding bullets.

Hell yeah...I wouldn't even bother...No way!!!

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Would never happen anyway. It's not as if this guy is relaxing at the local Cafe, he is well hidden, probably staying in-doors most of the time and is doing a very good job at it.

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Agreed, this is a silly question. if we genuinely thought it was the perp, we would call the cops. Assuming JT wants "serious answers" as they insist above, the only serious answer is to call the cops. Sure, we fantasize about beating him, but the cops would only arrest us instead of him. This is a no-brainer.

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dial 110 right away and ask for assistance on handling the situation.

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I would run around shouting "house on fire, House on fire" then do a double back flip and break out in my Richard Nixon impersonation.

Seriously, what sort of question is this to ask...

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If I wasnt sure it was him Id call the police. If I was sure it was I`d take care of him myself.

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I will definitely break his hands first before handing him over to police.

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The fact that a gaijin attacked a Japanese would bring the cops running like speeding bullets.

True. But I was assaulted three years ago in a train. One nutter attacked me when I was sleeping (there was nobody around, it was closed to Atami, at night). I quickly woke up, slap the guy (once), then he ran away in a random station. I ran after him; five minutes later, the cops arrived and stomped on me. The bloke looked at me, laughed and ran away. I explained to the cops what happened, but it took almost 30 minutes after they released me. And of course they never looked for the nutter. If you decide to beat the cr3p out of Ichihashi, then you have to make sure he won't be able to use his legs before the cops arrive, otherwise he'll quietly reach the whorehouse where he is hiding.

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This is a very difficult question to answer.

There are two problems, one, the embarrassment of the other guy and yourself if you are wrong. Major meiwaku.

Two, the danger involved. This is a guy who is trying to get away with murder. He has a huge price on his head, so maybe he has armed himself.

As for the reward, I would return it completely to the family. If they were to decline receiving it, I would donate every yen to charity. How could you accept a profit from murder?

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What would I do? Probably shout his name loudly, to get the attention of locals around. Worst that could happen is that I look a fool.

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I will call to my husband to have him call the police. If I call the police it will be very difficult for me to explain in Japanse what I am seeing, and where I am. So, I'd better wait for the police to see the action live.

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I'm a pretty big guy, 190 cm, 115kg. I would just get close enough to him to take him down. As 'pathat' said above, a foreigner attacking a local would bring the doughnut boys running.

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If you grab a person who you thought was Ichihashib but ended up being someone else you mind find yourself in crap with the cops as this is assault. But the initial reaction would be to apprehend the person.

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wouldn't know him from adam... all japanese look alike ; )

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"Shout and get attention.. hopefully some brave samaritans would knock him down"

And if there's no brave samaritans around, he'd get away, lol.

"get my reward"

That's the main thing, isn't it, lol.

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If it was in a restaurant, I would go outside and call the cops. Use stall tactics if necessary (ask him for directions or something) until they arrived. On a train, just scream: It's him! It's Ichihashi!! Surely some people would tackle him. If I just saw him on the street, I suppose I would call the police while trying to follow him...

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Call the cops, tell them where I am, They can follow my signal from my cell phone, follow him, wait for the cops to come and get my reward.

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Shout and get attention...hopefully some brave samaritans would knock him down.

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Scare him and let him run. And then unleash Japan's largest mastiff (who tipped the vet's scales last month at a rather imposing 129kg). Blood sport anybody?

Moderator: Readers, we asked a serious question. Serious answers please.

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Follow him and call the police, not good to engage the guy, suspects on the run would do anything to escape, this guy has already killed one time, there's nothing preventing him from killing again by engaging him yourself.

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I would kidnap him then tell the cops to double the prize they are offering ;)

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Call my daughter or son-in-law.

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Report the sighting to the nearest Koban. What else?

And after you spent an hour explaining yourself, and filling out the proper forms, while the police organized an official, by the book and up the level of command approved search of where you saw him, the dude would have had another plastic surgery.

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Kick him in the nads.

The fact that a gaijin attacked a Japanese would bring the cops running like speeding bullets.

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stab him in the throat a few times

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I'd contact JT monitors IMMEDIATELY, they'd certainly know what to do!

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Given this guy's athletic prowess (escaping some of the fast policemen in Japan - pass me another doughnut), I would probably break one of his legs before calling the police.

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I would go from behind without him noticing and throw him to ground, facing the ground and call police. i mean this is the perfect way....he might run away if u don't take serious action.

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If I were 100% sure, and if I could surprise him, he'd be unconscious long-enough for police to arrive. But he's a runner.

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Get someone in authority quickly to nab him.

No ransom thanks. Being involved in his apprehension and bringing some peace of mind to the victim's family would be reward enough.

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Ransom? Are you all bounty hunters now? Think about what percentage of the total is actually the Hawker family's contribution.

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Probably laugh, if he really look like the "after" photo that the police have distributed....

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I'd follow him really closely while calling the police at the same time (I'd get dibs to claim the ransom), when he's apprehended by me or the cops.

If he makes out that I'm following him, I'd start yelling "Ichihashi the Killer!" so everyone around me would pay attention, so he wouldn't try to assault me.

If he starts running, I'd stay right on him, since I'd want that huge ransom for this slug.

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Hey,I got my eyes on those millions yens..wouldn't never let it go. He looks skinny, easy to grab while call the police and drink an asahi. The only problem would be the fact I'm a gaijin, grabbing someone's neck. Might take a little time to explain the roles.

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But he'd probably be wearing a mask like all the others.

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Follow him, find his hideout and then report it to the police.

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It would be very unwise to try and grab him, as johnnyreb and KallyPygous are suggesting. In the first place, you couldn't be sure it was him, and you would be facing an assault charge if you were wrong. In the second place, even if it was Ichihashi, how do you know you could take him, whether he is scrawny or not? He might put a knife in your ribs before you knew what hit you.

I'd probably call the police on my mobile phone and try and keep an eye on the suspect until they arrived.

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I would prefer to ignore like nine police officers did and he escaped successfully.

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He's a scrawny little worm - I'd grab him and call for the police. The main problem would be that I wouldn't be able to remember his name so I might not be able to explain why I was assaulting a random stranger to the people around me - still, either way the police would come.

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realistically, i'd beat the crap out of him until someone stopped me.

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It's difficult to say. If I could quickly find a cop, I'd report the sighting, but the suspect would probably be gone by the time the cop arrived, especially if he was in a restaurant.

If I was feeling brave and had the time, I might follow him.

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Report the sighting to the nearest Koban. What else?

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