Japan: Man dressed as The Joker injures 17 in knife attack on Tokyo train

Fortitude

TV/Monitor Expert
Scout
Joined
Jul 10, 2004
Messages
22,886
Location
Inside right
A 24-year-old man attacked passengers on a Tokyo train line on Sunday evening.
As many as 17 people were injured as they headed for Halloween parties in the city.
Witnesses say the suspect was wearing a green shirt and purple suit in what appeared to be a Joker costume.
He sprayed a clear liquid around the carriage and set it alight. Video footage showed passengers running through carriages away from the flames.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-59103664



---

I haven't been to a more placid place on earth than Japan; this kind of incident may be shocking in general, but for Japan, it's multiples times more shocking for things like this to take place.

I haven't seen the news today so not sure if this will make waves as an incident, particularly so with perhaps only one who may turn out to be fatally injured.

Are there any caf members from, or living in, Tokyo?
 

OleBoiii

New Member
Joined
Oct 4, 2019
Messages
6,021
Fortitude said:
I haven't been to a more placid place on earth than Japan; this kind of incident may be shocking in general, but for Japan, it's multiples times more shocking for things like this to take place.
Click to expand...
If you don't borrow money from the yakuza or try to interfere with yakuza business, Japan is probably the safest country on earth. At least if you exclude nations with a population size smaller than 1 million people.

But for some odd reason every few years something absolutely bonkers happens. Last year there was a middle-aged man who stabbed a bunch of elementary school kids on a bus stop.

A year or two before this, a nurse was caught trying to kill an older patient during the night shift. After some investigation I believe they found out that over 50 patients over the years had died prematurely because of this nurse. She had specifically targeted old or very sick patients who looked likely to die soon anyways in order to not get caught.

There's also a long list of seriously fecked up crimes that will give you nightmares. Japan is highly conformist and there's a ridiculous pressure to perform and to "not be a loser" already from a very young age. I think that this, combined with the fact that mental health isn't taken seriously, leads to some truly odd crimes suddenly happening.
 

Foxbatt

New Member
Joined
Oct 21, 2013
Messages
14,297
For a moment I thought it said it was a Man dressed as Bojo.
 

AllGoodNamesRGone

New Member
Joined
Jun 25, 2021
Messages
844
Supports
Arsenal
OleBoiii said:
If you don't borrow money from the yakuza or try to interfere with yakuza business, Japan is probably the safest country on earth. At least if you exclude nations with a population size smaller than 1 million people.

But for some odd reason every few years something absolutely bonkers happens. Last year there was a middle-aged man who stabbed a bunch of elementary school kids on a bus stop.

A year or two before this, a nurse was caught trying to kill an older patient during the night shift. After some investigation I believe they found out that over 50 patients over the years had died prematurely because of this nurse. She had specifically targeted old or very sick patients who looked likely to die soon anyways in order to not get caught.

There's also a long list of seriously fecked up crimes that will give you nightmares. Japan is highly conformist and there's a ridiculous pressure to perform and to "not be a loser" already from a very young age. I think that this, combined with the fact that mental health isn't taken seriously, leads to some truly odd crimes suddenly happening.
Click to expand...
The case of Junko Furuta is one of the most horrific things I’ve ever heard about.
 

11101

Full Member
Joined
Aug 26, 2014
Messages
21,328
OleBoiii said:
If you don't borrow money from the yakuza or try to interfere with yakuza business, Japan is probably the safest country on earth. At least if you exclude nations with a population size smaller than 1 million people.

But for some odd reason every few years something absolutely bonkers happens. Last year there was a middle-aged man who stabbed a bunch of elementary school kids on a bus stop.

A year or two before this, a nurse was caught trying to kill an older patient during the night shift. After some investigation I believe they found out that over 50 patients over the years had died prematurely because of this nurse. She had specifically targeted old or very sick patients who looked likely to die soon anyways in order to not get caught.

There's also a long list of seriously fecked up crimes that will give you nightmares. Japan is highly conformist and there's a ridiculous pressure to perform and to "not be a loser" already from a very young age. I think that this, combined with the fact that mental health isn't taken seriously, leads to some truly odd crimes suddenly happening.
Click to expand...
Yeah, i was going to say this, there are some seriously twisted things that go on there. There is huge pressure on people to fit in and live a certain way. Every now and then somebody snaps. Sounds like that happened here.

A friend of mine was killed in a fairly gruesome way over there some years ago. It's not unusual.
 

Murder on Zidane's Floor

You'd better not kill Giroud
Joined
Jun 11, 2015
Messages
28,794
I think you can tell a small amount about a particular society by its cinema, Japanese cinema can be quite extreme and violent (Japanese cinema isn't solely these cliches fwiw) but I think the level of extremes is tapping into a slight underbelly of sentiment in the culture. Every culture has it to an extent and the art scene sometimes reflects this in some ways.

Awful to see and I hope no one is killed and he faces swift justice. Dependent on circumstances, I always wonder why several blokes don't just jump on him and kick him to death if he is attacking people on a crowded subway carriage.
 

sullydnl

Ross Kemp's caf ID
Joined
Sep 13, 2012
Messages
34,063
Even leaving aside the whole attacking people thing, I immediately dislike him for dressing up as the Joker.
 

utdalltheway

Sexy Beast
Joined
Aug 20, 2001
Messages
20,508
Location
SoCal, USA
Why?
I’m having trouble enough imagining why a sad fcuk like that would go running through a train randomly stabbing people.
 

OleBoiii

New Member
Joined
Oct 4, 2019
Messages
6,021
Murder on Zidane's Floor said:
I think you can tell a small amount about a particular society by its cinema, Japanese cinema can be quite extreme and violent (Japanese cinema isn't solely these cliches fwiw) but I think the level of extremes is tapping into a slight underbelly of sentiment in the culture.
Click to expand...
I'm not sure if I agree. Japan has a very large and relatively wealthy(on a world scale) population and a high population density. Because of this, you can sell pretty much everything in there. No niche is too strange. This is also why Westerners often have a very skewed image of Japan. The average Japanese person is genuinely unaware of 99% of the weird shit going on :p

Mental health not being taken seriously + high pressure to conform and perform will eventually create a few psychos. It's inevitable. In Japan the idea of going to a therapist with your problems can be considered highly insulting. If your friend is struggling with depression and you suggest professional help it can sound like you're asking them to be institutionalized.

Japanese bullies can also be fecking ruthless. And this bullying continues to the workplace. It's considered a big problem in Japanese society.
 

Murder on Zidane's Floor

You'd better not kill Giroud
Joined
Jun 11, 2015
Messages
28,794
OleBoiii said:
I'm not sure if I agree. Japan has a very large and relatively wealthy(on a world scale) population and a high population density. Because of this, you can sell pretty much everything in there. No niche is too strange. This is also why Westerners often have a very skewed image of Japan. The average Japanese person is genuinely unaware of 99% of the weird shit going on :p

Mental health not being taken seriously + high pressure to conform and perform will eventually create a few psychos. It's inevitable. In Japan the idea of going to a therapist with your problems can be considered highly insulting. If your friend is struggling with depression and you suggest professional help it can sound like you're asking them to be institutionalized.

Japanese bullies can also be fecking ruthless. And this bullying continues to the workplace. It's considered a big problem in Japanese society.
Click to expand...
I suppose you're right, the only opinion I get of Japan has been through it's cinema while being in the west. I am speaking more of the almost, mindless as if written by a team or writers, violence that sometimes erupts in singular, sporadic events.
 

Fortitude

TV/Monitor Expert
Scout
Joined
Jul 10, 2004
Messages
22,886
Location
Inside right
OleBoiii said:
If you don't borrow money from the yakuza or try to interfere with yakuza business, Japan is probably the safest country on earth. At least if you exclude nations with a population size smaller than 1 million people.

But for some odd reason every few years something absolutely bonkers happens. Last year there was a middle-aged man who stabbed a bunch of elementary school kids on a bus stop.

A year or two before this, a nurse was caught trying to kill an older patient during the night shift. After some investigation I believe they found out that over 50 patients over the years had died prematurely because of this nurse. She had specifically targeted old or very sick patients who looked likely to die soon anyways in order to not get caught.

There's also a long list of seriously fecked up crimes that will give you nightmares. Japan is highly conformist and there's a ridiculous pressure to perform and to "not be a loser" already from a very young age. I think that this, combined with the fact that mental health isn't taken seriously, leads to some truly odd crimes suddenly happening.
Click to expand...
Absolutely - pressure bursts pipes and the victims of that are collateral.

I didn't know much about the mental health dismissal element (or how the physically disabled are treated) until quite recently. A lot of people who could do with treatment getting no help whatsoever is a recipe for disaster.

Apparently this guy was dressed up as a JoJo character, Yoshikage Kira - a woman-hating serial killer, not the Joker, and chilling as indifferent as you like after doing what he did:


If he has a mental illness, it surely won’t be explored in Japan.

I’m sure you’re aware of the concern about this younger, late-teen to mid 20’s generation being a powder keg of rebellion and influenced ideals? ‘Fortunately’ it’s been gas, vehicular or bladed weapons per incident over the past couple of decades; I can’t help but wonder what havoc a gunman/men could wreak with how utterly unprepared they are for such an event unfolding (armed response times in particular) and how far off we are from that materialising. There’s a mass slaughter scene in Alice In Borderland that simply wouldn’t get green lit in a Western re-make, which is primed to give people ideas if they are that way inclined; I think it’s seen as fantasy realm in Japan for now, but won’t be the instant someone, or a group, replicate it.

Perhaps I’m getting ahead of myself, but the frequency of these attacks seems to be increasing and if you’re maniacal enough to intend to kill as many people as possible in a spree or melee attack, I think it’s a pretty obvious conclusion to draw and a, when rather than if, scenario.
 

AkaAkuma

Full Member
Joined
May 15, 2012
Messages
3,203
Japan has its own unique problems, but it’s not to the degree that’s been spoken about and as for violence it’s generally in extreme instances like this whereas back home in the UK I’d say it’s more prevalent on a daily basis.

it’s likely there will be more copycats as this is the 3rd instance I can remember. Previously an acid attack and another knife attack on the train towards women.

what’s worrying is that this latest attack has used both weapons from the previous attacks. With acid being a worry as it’a not really happened in Japan whilst it’s been growing worldwide.

i WFH, but on one of the times I took the train into work in Tokyo I was sat calmly and then a man stepped onboard and stood in front of me as there were no seats, he looked agitated and the woman stood beside him became uncomfortable, then after a few minutes I just heard a very quiet ‘terrorist’. Thankfully he got off at the next stop… I was spooked but laughed it off, now I’m going to be alittle more vigilant.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.