A man stabbed himself in the stomach in an apparent attempt at "seppuku" (ritual disembowelment) outside the Diet building on Monday, police and ambulance services said. "We are now investigating his motivation," a police spokesman said.
"The injured man was taken to hospital immediately," said a spokesman for Tokyo emergency services. Jiji Press said the man, 39, had survived and appeared to be a member of a right-wing nationalist group.
© News reports
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bushlover
Cool attempt dude!! I wish more of you guys would try this stuff. We are really cheering you Uyoku guys on as we really want to see you "Stick it to the man!". You guys rock. We can forgive failed attempts as long as your heart is still in it to have another "Stab at it" (hehehe). My prayers for a swift recovery so we can hear about you outside the Diet really soon.
norinrad21
Epic Failure on different levels
ka_chan
Right wing, left wing, all extremists are just nuts. Seem nowadays, there are coocs to the right of me, nuts to the left of me, crazies to back of me, madmen to the front of me, surrounded by idiots in a world run by the insane. In the case of Japan since politics is an family occupation handed from father to son, it must be genetic. I guess the "big one" must be coming to clean some this mess. By the "big one", I mean the super volcano that is just off of Kyshu.
usaexpat
Taking a page from the wacky Korean protestors I see.
sharky1
He was cleaning his knife and it went off...
BurakuminDes
What a dead-set goose. Right wing nut-job, was probably last seen driving a black van around the precinct of Yasukuni. What strikes me is that he probably had delusions he had some sort of connections to samurai in choosing this path of (failed) suicide!
Alexander Warrick
You can't be a martyr if you puss out.
Raja Kumar
Someone not satisfied by LDP,DPJ and Diet. Japan newsmedia need to interview him.
gogogo
Moron
Jbizzle
These clowns down here in Nagasaki drive around blaring Star Wars Darth Vader music out of their buses. My girl and I had a good laugh at that.
timorborder
Due to popular demand, here is a run down of the 風の会 (Wind Society) and the 虱の党 (Lice Party) incident.
Way back in 1992 in the general election of that year, a guy called Nomura who had a background as a right-wing activist/commentator stood for election, under the banner of the "Wind Society". As a bit of tongue in cheek, a certain political cartoonist drew a cartoon in which he exchanged the "Wind Society" name for the "Lice Party" name (see how similar the kanji characters are above). Anyway, S really hit the F and the cartoonist ended up apologizing to the candidate. This was not the end of the story, however, the newspaper publisher (I believe it was Asahi) was visited the following year by the unsuccessful candidate who bailed up the Editor in Chief with his grievance. Apparently words were exchanged, and the former candidate threatened to commit suicide right there and then. The editor did not flinch at these threats and instead watched as the aggrieved party blew his brains out on the floor.
Anyway, that is the last example I can think of where a right-wing chap has actually carried through on threats of suicide.
Potsu
Too much free time.
Altria
I hope the cops question him with a megaphone in a tiny interrogation room.
DailyBread
I think it could legally be argued in a Japanese court of law that there were two people involved here. Dr Jeckel attempted to murder Mr Hyde with the intent to abandon the body outside the Diet building
Mittsu
Timor, show us the kanji please. More Dietmen should take heed of this guy's example...
buggerlugs
Next election time I'm gonna set up a video outside the diet in the hope of being able to get YouTube fame from these idiots. Hope he wasn't protesting about the health care system:)
SebastianFlyte
Twit!
timorborder
How come he didn't have one of those dudes standing behind him to chop off his head when he was finished slicing?
Because that would be dangerous. It has to be understood that these clowns are all into appearances rather than actually carrying out such acts (rather like professional Japanese athletes - they have all the kit but none of this skills). Putting somebody behind you with a sword (even for show) might just prove to be too much of a temptation("I'm sorry officer, my hand just slipped"). On the other hand, another interpretation is that this chap was totally lacking in friends.
NuckinFutz
They should set up a public suicide area just for these nutjobs! The more the merrier and more oxygen on the planet for the rest of us to breath!
tuneintokyo
pathetic loser...
bamboohat
How come he didn't have one of those dudes standing behind him to chop off his head when he was finished slicing?
IfeelImust
Sorry should have read begining
timorborder
The things you see when you don't have a camera!! This is just another right-wing nationalist loony giving himself a close shave while exercising his rights to demonstrate (rights that the right-wing nationalists would be quick to remove if they ever regained power in Japan).
When all is said and done, he probably just gave himself a little poke in the general area of stomach, a bit a blood and lots of impact. It actually happens rather regularly here in Japan. Indeed, the last nationalist to kill himself as a form of demonstration was that chap who barricaded himself in the newspaper offices, after the newspaper took a swipe at him, referring to his group as the "Lice Association" (readers with a strong background in Japanese will appreciate the subtly of the kanji used).
doedel
Only 39 and they call the 'Jiji Press'.
fishy
what kind of message did this guy want to convey by doing this sort of performance????
franz75
EMO...
thepro
Uyoku guys who drive around yelling at people in vans must have failed at absolutely everything else in life and have nothing else to do
abromofo
Hopefully a few more will follow, and actually succeed. I'm so tired of having my ears blasted with psycho rhetoric and pre-World War 2 military music.
Altria
What a pathetic failure.
Beelzebub
For all the coverage it gets in TV samurai melodramas, performing hara-kiri isn't nearly as easy as it sounds. He should have arranged for a kaishakunin (attendant) to stand beside him and make sure.
GAYMAN
lets go back to the good old days where we can keep our heads firmly in the sand and pretend the rest of the world doesn't exist. BANZAI!!
thepro
What a loser