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Man dies after being hit by piece of signboard kicked by angry customer in Osaka convenience store

24 Comments

A 58-year-old man died on Monday in Suita City, Osaka, after he was hit by a piece of a signboard inside a convenience store, which another man had broken by kicking it on Saturday. Police said the victim had a previous heart illness.

According to police, Kazushi Itagaki was hit by a piece of a signboard which flew off after a customer kicked the board around 3:30 p.m. on Saturday. The victim went home but soon felt unwell and visited a local clinic.

Police said the man who broke the signboard tried to pay a car-related tax on a computer terminal inside the store but he got frustrated after he couldn't manage it. As he left the store, the man kicked the signboard. Police are searching for the man who is described as being 180 cms tall and in his 20s.

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24 Comments
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What a freak accident. I guess when your time is up, your time is up.

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I'm having trouble figuring this out! A sign board is a flimsy priece of plastic. A sign might be made of sterner stuff. WHAT HAPPENED!??? The current crop of youth may appear to be less "Japanese" than other generations, but if you look at the behavior of quaifs in their 50s there is a striking similarity. If the "youth" kicked it and it busted it couldn't have been so heavy. If it didn't cut him then he must have been so suprised he had a heart attack or some seizure. Breaking signs ain't good , but is the youth responsible for his death? YOU be the judge!!!

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Nonsense that they are searching for the youth. Maybe first degree murder is on the cards with execution too.

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I'm having trouble figuring this out! A sign board is a flimsy priece of plastic. A sign might be made of sterner stuff. WHAT HAPPENED!???

Yeah, this is either really poorly written or I think more likely the information from the police was similarly fuzzy and the journalist is as befuddled as to what occurred as the rest of us !

Moderator: A signboard is not made of flimsy plastic. It is like a blackboard.

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One man kicks a sign, another man happened to be in the area has a history of heart problems goes home and then starts feeling ill. He goes to the hospital and dies. Could it be that the death is unrelated to the sign kicking?

Richard the First:

Sorry dude, this incident has none of the pre-requisites for the prosecution to ask for murder one. No premeditation, no heinous crime, no robbery. Just destruction of property.

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They should execute the signboard. It's already damaged, so they would be putting it out of its misery.

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Yet another young Japanese person unable to deal his daily life. It remains unclear how he is responsible for the death of the old man, but I'm sure they will trump something up. If they can prove he died as a direct result of the injury he received from the signboard or the young gun deliberately kicked it at him they might have a case, but from the information above (or lack of it) he could only be facing destruction of property. However, I'm sure they will try for 'bodily harm resulting in death' and probably get it under Japanese "uhum" law.

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I don't suppose there was a security camera in the convenience store that could provide a better description than "180 cm tall and in his 20s".

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Lived in Osaka for a while. Perhaps the worst city I've ever been to. People always seem to be walking around angry, or looking for a fight, or thinking they are just really cool.

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thepro:

Do you think the guy who kicked the sign was thinking he was really cool or the guy who got hit?

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How the hell should I know?

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I don't suppose there was a security camera in the convenience store that could provide a better description than "180 cm tall and in his 20s".

No mention of security camera, but my guess - height: 180cm-20cm=160cm (at the most) and his age 20+20=40's, Headline also possible to shorten but...i am used to JT articles.

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Moderator: A signboard is not made of flimsy plastic. It is like a blackboard Are you trying to say it is brittle? Where did the piece hit him, how big was it, was he cut?? What happened!!

If you know that much why don't you put it in the article?

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Not enough info to determine what the guy died of.

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The guy most certainly does not deserve to be charged with murder, but at the very least he needs to be charged with vandalism and whatever charges relate to public acts of violence. You see this kind of crap EVERY DAY and nearly EVERYWHERE in Japan. Some dumb person gets frustrated and bangs a raises his/her voice, bangs a counter, smashes something on the ground, or kicks something. All too often something else occurs when said action has gone too far -- something falls off and breaks from the struck counter, a shard of glass from what's thrown on the ground hits someone's eye, a kicked signboard kills a man.

Most of us have reacted poorly in times of anger or stress at some point in our lives, and are very quick to recognize we've said or done something that we had the power to prevent. But too many people are getting away with this crap when no one says or does anything. So, again, at the very least the guy needs to be charged with a few things, and be scared into believing he might be charged with something relating to the man's death.

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did the piece the sign stick in the victems head or did he die from heartfailure. The article is to fuzzy about the details.

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It smells like padding, filler a...conjured or fabricated event. Not a bad idea, but too sketchy on the details. For example had the youth barged out of the store and smashed an oldster on the noggin with the door, it would be better. Convenience stores are made of lightweight plastic. And the flatfoots would have no way to connect the old guy's clinic visit with the convenience store without blood or a bump on the dome. Also he would have left fingerprints and his image all over the store...AND it is more than likely that a nosey person would have noticed his mode of transport from the convenience store. Annnnd...

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Very sad news for this poor man and his family and friends. Osaka has many good people, but too bad it also has these idiots. Rest in peace dear old ossan.

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Osaka is (agreed the Pro) the worst Japanese city and I live here and work in Kobe. Its like a different civilised world an hour away. (Yes we're moving soon) And when you talk alcohol. They are boozed up heavy from 6 PM and its a lethal combo. And this stunt happened in the afternoon. Anyway we hear sirens all night....

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yeap, steer clear of that misplaced Asian city, just travel from Kyoto to Kobe as if there's nothing inbetween.

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Misplaced Asian City? uncivilized? 8 million alcoholics? these idiots? angry people looking for a fight? Think they are cool?

This Osaka bashing is the talk of fools. Osaka rocks. Depends where you hang out and if you can do a job apart from (ahem) Teaching. If all you can do is speak your native language and have no other talents then you will not enjoy Osaka. Its hard down here if your just a hack.

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The fact that a number of people have now expressed bemusement over how a signboard can kill someone I think indicates the article, for whatever reason, doesn't sufficiently explain what happened. I think actually a signboard is ...well...a signboard and a blackboard a ...blackboard, isn't it? Certainly I haven't seen many blackboards capable of killing a man in the average Japanese convenience store.

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romulus3... someday I would love a have a drink with you to get my good japan side back. Maybe Im gettin old, or maybe I just like to walkin down clean sidewalks, or need peaceful nights. I need a positive attitude here in Osaka, I truly need it man. Guess I go through the dark areas. Juso, Kyobashi, Umeda and then home. I have been nearly hit by a car in many areas and Ive seen dudes like the guy above. Anyway, my wife and son were born here. Where do the clever dudes with manners hang, like yourself? I can go weeks without seeing a white guy here.... And thats even down at the stock exchange.

Moderator: Back on topic please.

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I can go weeks without seeing a white guy here...

In Osaka?! I see foreigners around every single day of the week at any time of the year, day, afternoon or night. I've lived here for 10 years.

Osaka the worst city? Doubt that very much. Depends on what you like to do with your life: I've been to places outside Osaka I considered dumps, but most of all, the worst people = Tokyo. Bunch of expletive of your choices. Osaka people are, have been, and always will be known in Japan as the best, the most interesting, the most fun, the most friendly, but yes, have tempers to go with it too. I'd rather be with a funny, loud-mouth than a dull conservative -> Tokyo.

Anyway, this dude dieing from being hit by a sign... Come on, he must have been severly weak in the first place. I've been punched, kicked, kneed, elbowed in the head and other parts of my sexy body, and I'm still here thanks.

Still, the man that kicked the sign should definitely pay some penalty for that: you cannot go around kicking things at other people and expect to get away with it.

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