martyman comments

@ nandakandamanda: With child predators like this unemployed 45-year-old man, the J-cops will probably find out other abductions, harassment's and near abductions may be linked in his area. Children that were afraid or embarrassed to talk about their encounters may come forth admitting contact with this coward. Since he was 32 years old at the time he was first caught, he has probably been developing ways not to be caught. Lets hope Japanese justice gives him the punishment he deserves. If there was a second perpetrator, the sentence should be doubled.

These two children's lives should of never been taken by this less than human criminal.

RIP these 2 children.

I am glad this is just an opinion. Mr. Wapshot has no clue on writing a title for his stories. North Korea was mentioned in one sentence at the top of the article. I am glad he got his quotes right, it shows that his observation skills are on track for the big issue in DoD budget cutbacks and how it eventually will affect any program supporting the military.

Depending on the circumstances the person was murdered, he could of been a helpless victim or some type of serial killer. Either way, I hope he did not die in after being put in the storage container. That is pretty painful way to die. The JP's will eventually figure out who he was and we will read about it later this year on JT.

@Yamamoto- I take it you have never smelled a rotting dead body before. It is something you will never forget in your life. Other stories on JT have folks always complaining about odors in their buildings which usually end up with bodies being discovered.

I liked the sound of the glass breaking

Aww! the sounds of innocents youths making sure they opinions are heard. Since they are children, probably no legal issues will occur, except for gomenasai's to the vehicle owners.

The best punishment for this sub-human would not to be locked up in prison, but to take care of the innocent victim he stabbed until they are fully recovered. The 76 year old man may need some assistance, especially if he is not able to work due to his minor injuries. One question on this article, did he apologize to the man after stabbing him?

With the numbers making headlines, you would expect protests from the locals demanding a way for leadership to figure out how to reduce numbers of the corrupt police officials in office (arrested officers). The other 450+ receiving disciplinary actions were probably dealt with at the proper levels once their offenses were discovered.

It is all a conspiracy for the Algerians government botched job of hiding their own mistakes. It sounds very fishy that they did not want any other countries assistance on the hostage retrieval mission. We can only wait for the next story that comes out describing what had happened from the hostages themselves. The stories that are being told now are brief on how the army did a great job. This was only for the benefit of the Algerian govt and for them to get the heck out of the country.

Very interesting to have this as a voluntary program. Maybe they should do the interviews on the Japanese comedy show "Akan Police" to be voted as recruited or not.

With the two incidents with this "dreamliner" and Japanese owned company, the next story would be protestors voicing their opinion to raise awareness on the dangers of aircraft with known problems to flying over populated areas around Japans international airports.

A day late to post, but the picture of the man that stabbed himself is priceless. You have to wonder about airport security and the ability for folks to enter with weapons without being searched at the international terminal.

Rip to the members that were killed in this accident. One would wonder if distracted driving, no seat belts, and speed were the cause of the accident. The grand parents and their grandson passing in one incident will be a hard thing for everyone to live with especially if the driver was totally at fault.

According to the survey responses provided in this news story by the death row inmates, I believe they should have it their way. They should be able to give the exact date and method of their execution to ensure that that their are no cruel intentions and also enough time to say goodbye to their loved ones.

The International advocacy groups will no longer have a leg to stand on if the guilty provide the time and method of their sentence. No cruel intentions there, just pro-choice. Japan, China, Iran, North Korea and the U.S. agrees on at least one thing but unfortunately it is not a popular topic by any means.

Hopefully if there is any action taken on this law, the only ones that will be able to witness the execution would be the family of the victim (if murder was the crime) and the family of the accused to keep the judgement fair for both parties.

The Japanese system of defining youths,children and adults is very confusing. If someone under 21 is not married and still lives t home, they are considered teenagers and not held accountable very much fo their actions and will not have their names released in the media. But When they get married with the parents permission, they are considered adults. What will be the case for prosecution against the 17 year old on this case of assault on a minor against a minor? There is intent to cause harm and it was not an accident? The mother is just as at fault to the same degree because she was an active witness that seemed to do nothing to stop the actions of her "mature husband".

@ Sensei, yes,its that time of year that Saitama makes the headlines on serious crimes. Where the heck was the father during the attacks?

RIP to the little one and hopefully this woman sees the back of prison bars for a long long time to never have the chance to finish her dirty deeds to the 2 year old!

20,000 kilo's of steel sliding off a truck into oncoming traffic. The momentum of the truck slowing down quickly before getting to the bend of the road and not having a secured load properly or having metal cables that were not safety inspected regularly for usability is probably what the J-cops will come up with in their investigation.

Rip to these two men and condolences to their family on their loss.

AustPaul, Exactly! The temple should drop its case against Tsuruhara-san to save the Japanese taxpayers the financial burden of housing a 10 yen criminal for a year.

This is an interesting subject that Americans would want President Obama to focus on international adoptions more than the "Fiscal Cliff" issues facing America. With the budget issues that will force families across the US to lose their homes, jobs in the next year, I am not sure how the petitioners will be able to afford adopting Russian children. It would seem more appropriate to fix internal problems before diving into external ones.

@AustPaul, looks like my comment was deemed inappropriately off-topic mentioning the comparison between theft and vandalism. But there is no difference between 10yen and 10 million yen, just the way the accuser finds it fit to punish the guilty.

Interesting responses to this post. Two items are important to think about, the principal of being a thief stealing any amount of money and the letter of the law to prosecute thieves that commit criminal acts. Is there a stipulation in the Japanese law for community service to be handed out as punishment or does it state that only Under Japanese law, theft is punishable by up to 10 years’ jail or a fine of up to 500,000 yen? Are there separate standards for Japanese citizens and foreigners stealing 10 yen from temples that would warrant comments on just releasing him this person with a slap on the hand?

On the other side of the coin, are most of the folks just complaining about the Japanese judicial system? The focus of comments should be on why the temple called the police about 10 yen and how it could have been taken care of at the temple with an agreement of community service or similar punishment to Tsuruhara. Once the police are called in to a crime scene, they are obligated to fulfill their duty as public officials. If the temple folks dropped the charges of theft against Tsuruhara, then wouldn't the charges and jail sentence be dropped?

But anyways, next time Tsuruhara goes to a temple, he may be giving money instead of taking from his experience as a petty thief.

This article is very vague on whom and were this article describes. Is it just in Tokyo with the Japanese Populace or is it an issue Japan wide and includes foreigners. Is it a problem dealing with passengers on trains? Or is it about drunks going home after partying? Lately Japanese publicity and mindset falls back on foreigners(that are not equal even to one percent of the 850) and issues involving alcohol.

One thing that works in the US is publicizing in the newspaper, names and pictures of arrested through out the year in the newspapers (public domain) to show the stupidity of the guilty. This should bring down the numbers of incidences during bonenkai season with the knowledge that one could be famous for their actions. Right now it seems only high profile cases get lucky enough to have their pictures posted on the news and newspapers.

@JapanGalDec. 17, 2012 - 05:23PM JST I have never seen a car here ever drive on the sidewalk.

I have a few times in Yamaguchi and Okinawa! It makes it easier for the J-cops to identify and apprehend the drunk drivers. I guess they thought is a party lane to get to their destination faster! LOL!

@ WilliB Dec. 10, 2012 - 08:33PM JST

People drink in Japan, and sometimes that drink more than they should. It is a fact of life.

Exactly! Thank you for driving the obvious point out of a problem Japan seems to have. But if the wife would of been there to "drag him home", he may be alive today!

@ WilliBDec. 09, 2012 - 11:17PM JST

Why do you assume he got drunk at home and then when out?? That sounds rather unlikely to me.

I try not assume anything but if he had a responsible family (assuming he has one, not being sarcastic) that knows his drinking habits keep him out until late hours, he may be alive today if they were able to have him come home at a decent hour instead of wondering around after midnight in a drunken state.

@Cos,sounds like a second part of the story coming soon!

But on the other side of the coin, Having alcohol involved with this incident will enrage the locals on why the mans family let him out of their home in his condition which which led to his death at the train station. Luckily he wasn't able to grab someone near by to balance himself and possibly pull them with him into the trains path.

RIP to this nameless man that died at the train station. I am not sure who I feel bad for. The man or his family? Isn't someone liable for monetary damages when they delay the trains from their schedule? And the inconvenience to the passengers?

Probably the smell of the decomposing corpse bothered the neighbors enough for them to call the police?

Only 12000 so far? Oh my! This group will make Japanese people proud to know they have support from within their own culture on reducing: issues of immigrant reform laws, cases in court with immigrants requesting visa extensions, immigrants that are incarcerated on crimes they are guilty or innocent from, immigrants that are going to Japanese educational institutions, immigrants here on medical exchange programs, immigrants that are here on work visas that are doing jobs Japanese do not want to do, Immigrants that have legitimate businesses here which employ Japanese people, etc. The media will spin this story out of control internationally and it will act as a direct reflection on Japan itself from anyone reading news stories as this that do not live in Japan.

For us that are immigrants and reside permanently here in Japan, we know better, but when the buses roll by with these "Japanese Citizens" protesting, it makes you wonder if you are safe in your own home because of the Zaitokukai beliefs and some of the criminal acts they have been associated with in the past.

All clear now! Lucky it wasn't as strong as the last one.

Open and close case with this woman.

a. She broke Japanese law with carrying a 16 cm knife in public-premeditated crime;

b. burst into a classroom with children with a weapon - criminal trespassing;

c. quoted saying " she means business while terrifying the children in the classroom" - great role model for her son to follow in the future;

d. missed the meeting with the father and son - irresponsible parent

-- Priceless --

As far as the son, I feel bad if he has been bullied, but the parents should have followed protocol to address the problem. Hopefully the son will not be to embarrassed from the mothers issues. Hopefully mom gets prosecuted by the police for her actions. Hopefully the husband can restrain his wife from making future mistakes that would adversely affect their sons mental well being.

With the umbilical cord still attached.. I hope for the baby boy sake, he will be adopted by a loving family and is never allowed to meet the biological mother. This is beyond post-partum depression issues, more like an attempted infanticide. I hope they find the mother and jail her for almost killing this newborn baby.