Ken Holcomb comments

I suspect if one only reads the Crime section of these news sources, it would seem that crime is on the rise, and it may well be. However, yesterday's big crime story was about a guy breaking into a lady's home and washing her lingerie. Yeah. Huge crime spree..... ;-)

The crime in this country is skyrocketing it is catching up with N. America minus the gun violence

That's a pretty BIG minus. And one that nearly every modern nation on earth shares with Japan.

wait...........since when does a Japanese school pay for a janitor.

> isn't that why they have clean up time for the kids? free labor?

Uhh....no. It's not free labor to have the kids take part in communal area cleaning in a daily basis. It's an exercise in character building and teamwork. Something many western nations, including my own, could learn from.

Can any of the commenters above provide any link to support your assumptions that this was a suicide/murder?

28-year-old unemployed man

This pretty much explains the last sentence:

Tabuchi’s mother told them that her son and her husband had not been getting along recently.

Ya think.....?

“So, where did he keep his money?”

That would have been my 1st question too.

Go straight to jail, on your way to Hell, you scumbag punk!

A 35 year old 'man' with an obvious mommy complex, likely living off his 55 year old nanny.

Seems like the thrown phone should have been flying in the opposite direction.

Gaijinjland

Today 09:46 am JST

The headline is misleading. She wasn’t beaten to death.

Well let's see. He beat her enough to break her ribs, that caused internal injuries resulting in traumatic shock that eventually killed her, because he didn't take her to the hospital.

If one follows the logic here, if he hadn't beat her to begin with, the resulting internal injuries and further traumatic shock wouldn't have happened, hence the beating is what killed her.

I'm no lawyer either, but if the judicial system here had real prosecutors, I suspect they could have convinced the judge on a more appropriate sentence.

Euro Dude

Today 06:51 pm JST

And your expert opinion is based on what, exactly?

Your assumptions may turn out to be true, but until the full story is told, and it may never be, let's hold off a bit on the blame assignment.

AlanToday 09:02 am JST

Well, yet another day goes by in Japan with the similar story.

Do you really think this kind of thing happens only in Japan?

Or maybe it's just because it makes the news here. Because there are disgusting freaks like this man everywhere, even in your home country. Maybe it's just so common there that news agencies no longer report it?

nosuke

Today 03:23 pm JST

I have lived here in Japan for 40+ years. Both my sons, now responsible adults, both married with kids of their own, were both out of my house shortly after graduating high school. Not all parents here are spoiling their offspring.

Stephen Chin

Today 02:21 pm JST

He stabbed his father to death because of harsh treatment he had received. Okay: a reasonable answer.

How, exactly, is stabbing one's father in the neck a "reasonable answer"? Who do you think was paying for this punks college? My guess is daddy. Too harsh? Nah. Too late with the harshness. Discipline at the youngest age appropriate is best.

Having no idea what this guy actually had to endure that he considered "harsh", I'm going to go out on a limb here and suggest just leave home and cut your ties until you grow up. Probably a better solution than the one he chose, for everyone involved.

I think it's hilarious that many comments are aimed at the Japanese government and on the other side if the Pacific Americans are blaming that government for high fuel costs.

How about blaming the oil producing nations? It's their greed that causes client nations to make decisions based on their needs and goals.

Denied intent to kill.

Beating and kicking his father with no intent to kill? So what was his intent?

That may be a legal defense for murder, but it's no defense for being a scumbag.

Runa and the victim met at a dance club in the Susukino area in late May and had some kind of issue at that time, according to sources.

"Some kind of issue."???

WTH kind of issue leads an entire family, the patriarch of which is a doctor, to this kind of result?

Makes one seriously consider NEVER going clubbing again, EVER!!

Nihon Enigma

Today 07:09 am JST

Is Japan becoming the capital of public stabbing incidences?

I suppose if one only reads the news about Japan's crimes, it would seem your comment is valid.

However, there has been a series of stabbings just in NYC recently that easily outnumber such crimes in the whole of Japan.

So I think the answer to your question is, No.

It would be food to remember that the common soldier, sailor, Marine and airman who dies in battle are almost always only concerned about their mates on their left and their right. The political reason for them being there is almost never their concern. Only survival and protecting your mates.

The philosophical arguments against war have no meaning to those that actually fight and die.

Rest in peace, sir. Your spirit will soon be home with family.

R.I.P. to the young lady. Unfortunately the beating that killed her was likely not the first from this a-hole.

Didn't read all the comments yet, but my response is so what?

I drive upwards of 5000 kms a month for work. There are long stretches of the Sanyo and Chugoku expressways where the speed limit is already 100 kph.

As long as the individual driver is alert, allows ample space for passing other vehicles and politely submits to those trying to pass them, the proposed 20kph increase for large trucks won't make much of a difference in accudent rates, in my opinion.

Dave Fair

Today 08:09 am JST

So you always sleep with one eye open? Your paranoia is sad. Unless of course you actually live in the States. At least 2 more mass shootings in the news there today.

Comparatively speaking, I feel pretty darn safe living in Japan.

Marc Lowe

Today 05:40 pm JST

You obviously have no idea what you're talking about. As an active duty Marine, I trained with the JGSDF on several occasions. They are a well trained and disciplined fighting force.

As with all branches of any country's military, there is always the 10% who fail. That might be a data point you can identify with.

To all the professional social psychologist surmising "bullying" as a possible reason for murdering his instructors, it's obvious none of you have any clue what it takes to train civilians to be professional soldiers.

Instilling the discipline it takes to perform one's job under fire, (oh yeah, that's the purpose of a standing military), requires the breaking down of each individual and building them back as a team member willing to stand shoulder to shoulder with your fellow team members in the face of danger and death.

Unfortunately there are those rare few who make it past the initial mental health exams and either wash out of training or snap. Would it have happened eventually in a non military life style for this individual? We'll never know.

R.I.P. to those he cowardly murdered and their families. May those others he injured, both physically and mentally, recover fully and quickly.

I normally refrain from criticism of the police in most situations. It's a tough job and those that have never had any direct experience with the crap cops have to put up with should probably not be so quick to degrade them.

However, in this case I have to agree with justaskingToday  07:24 am JST

Although I would add that cops are not trained psychologists and have neither the training nor the time to sit down with every nutcase that walks in their koban to council and analyze them.

What they should have though, is the resources at hand immediately to contact and bring in someone trained to analyze a person who is apparently suicidal/dangerous.

This is also a problem in my home country where cops are more likely to pull their weapons before pulling out a contact card.

Wow!

So many aeronautical design experts here.

As well as trained aircraft accident/incident analysts chiming in.

Heavy sarcasm intended.

Interesting that JT decided to list this article directly under one that talks about a other record low fertility rate in Japan this past year.

Low birth rate coupled with a seemingly high infanticide rate bodes poorly for Japan's future.

Either there need to be a drastic and quick attitude adjustment amongst child bearing age women or Japan's going to need to open its borders a lot more to allow foreigners to gain citizenship in order to rebuild its population.

IMHO of course.

Bofington

Today 08:26 am JST

Old is the new young in Japan, according to thousands of videos you can find online.

You know watching those videos will make you go blind, right? ;-)

The fact that he thought he needs two packs is impressive, but stealing is stealing and there is no excuse for it.

Two points:

Any shooting in Japan is a rare event. Unlike my home country of America where fatal mass shootings are almost a weekly occurrence now. So all those commenting on how unsafe Japan is - just stop.

Secondly, for those asking why the police didn't just shoot back, hard to say but according to the article, the guy was shooting with a high powered hunting rifle from inside a house. He had the advantage of range and cover. Also, he started shooting first indicating that the cops were probably out in the open or still sitting in their patrol car and we're probably hit before they new what was happening.

To my knowledge Japanese Police do not carry long rifles in their vehicles as many in the US do.

I won't comment on the shooter's mental capacity at the time because, 1. I'm no psychologist and 2. I don't care. He took 4 lives, therefore he deserves to die.

It's not the umbrella that breaks noses, it's the person swinging it.

Yubaru

Today 08:32 am JST

The article doesn't say he is a cop, just that he works at the Kinki Regional Police Department’s Osaka Prefectural Informational and Communication Division. Probably just some IT geek.

Living proof that pot does not kill.....;-)