A man stabbed himself in the thigh with a knife at Hachiko Square, which is adjacent to JR Shibuya Station in Tokyo, on Sunday.
Police said they received an emergency call at around 3:20 p.m., in which the caller said a man had stabbed himself, Kyodo News reported. The man, who is in his 20s, was taken to a hospital and treated for non-life-threatening injuries.
Police said he used a folding knife to stab his right thigh in the area known for the popular Hachiko dog statue. Police temporarily cordoned off the area after the commotion.
© Japan Today
15 Comments
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Tell_me_bout_it
what a bizarre thing to happen on Monday afternoon
Stephen Chin
Which shows he did not want to die. If he wanted to die he would have stabbed himself in the stomach or heart. Anyway, poor guy! So young! He should be kept under suicide-watch.
NCIS Reruns
Sigh. That place has really been going to the dogs....
sakurasuki
Bizarre news on Monday afternoon however it was happened on Sunday
kurisupisu
Yet more mental health issues make themselves apparent in Japan
For a supposedly peaceful society Japanese sure do like to use knives…
Mr Kipling
Sympathy self stabbing seems to be a thing in Japan. At least he didn't blame it on "muggers".
Noone1
Just a little knowledge of Japanese history will highlight how on a spectrum the extreme equivalent would have been called (harakiri) but this act is a cry for help by this young man. From an early age Japanese read and listen to the tales of their ancestral heroes so it wouldnt seem such a shock. I dont condone the act just pointing out some history fact. Japan is the safest and least crime ridden country in the world. Unlike other countries where you can buy highly lethal weapons that can cause mass casualties in seconds, Japan has very strict regulations on firearms. So the next most deadliest weapon would be something sharp as in the case of this troubled young man. I hope he gets the help he needs. They say people are more likely to try and subdue someone with a gun than a knife which may explain why such acts would be so much more jarring to westerners and other foreigners.
falseflagsteve
Get him down the quack sharpish, the boy’s flipped his lid.
kaimycahl
The guy was seeking attention and looks like he will get it medical and psychological attention/treatment. I don't think he wanted to kill himself he performed the act where many people populate which would get him the public attention he wanted and a response from authorities.
CaptDingleheimer
He could have instead just stood there holding a big sign that read: "I NEED HELP WITH MY MENTAL ILLNESS BUT I DON'T KNOW HOW TO GET IT", but people probably would have just not payed attention.
Now I hope he'll get his help, though I'm sorry he had to be hurt in the process.
We can sit here and complain about how bad mental healthcare is, and it is bad. But at the same time, what the mental healthcare system supposed to do to help someone holed up alone in their apartment and not coming out? I bet nobody saw much of this guy until he came running out to do this...
TaiwanIsNotChina
In Denmark they are trying out having volunteers visit the shut in among other measures:
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-67714026
Gene Hennigh
Has anyone even considered that there was perhaps a mosquito or a fly was on his thigh and he was trying to kill whatever it was? I'm just saying maybe he wasn't trying to get attention. I hate bugs, too.
Villanova
Well at least the koban is nearby!
obladi
Well, at least he didn’t stab someone else
kurisupisu
He could’ve taken on one of the trains at his local station instead of the knife.
Funny thing is train suicide attempts don’t always make the news like knives do.