Stabbing rampage in Akihabara, seven dead

Mayabird · Post by **Mayabird** » 2008-06-08 03:36pm

Man’s Rampage in Tokyo Kills Seven
Itsuo Inouye/Associated Press

The scene of a stabbing rampage in Akihabara, the main district for electronic goods in Tokyo, was sealed off by the police on Sunday.

Article Tools Sponsored By
By NORIMITSU ONISHI
Published: June 9, 2008

TOKYO – A 25-year-old man "tired" of life went on a killing rampage in a busy shopping area in central Tokyo on Sunday, plowing his truck into a crowd of pedestrians before stabbing passers-by with a survival knife. Seven people died and 11 others were injured in the attack.

A picture snapped by a bystander shows the suspect in the stabbing being taken away by the police.

The attack took place shortly after noon on a main thoroughfare that had been closed off to vehicles for the day in Akihabara, the main district for electronic goods in Tokyo and a magnet for fans of Japanese anime and manga comics. The location, as well as the number of fatalities, stunned a country that has long enjoyed low crime rates but has recently experienced random stabbings in less-high-profile areas.

The police identified the attacker as Tomohiro Kato, who was living by himself in a small apartment in Shizuoka, a prefecture just west of Tokyo.

According to the Japanese media, Mr. Kato told the police that he had grown "tired" of life, "hated the world" and had gone to Akihabara to kill people.

"Anyone was O.K.," he told the police, according to the Japanese media.

Japanese television showed the police holding on the ground Mr. Kato, dressed in a black T-shirt, off-white trousers and jacket, and wearing sneakers, about five minutes after the attack started.

Around 12:30 p.m., the suspect drove a white, two-ton rental truck into an intersection of the vehicle-free thoroughfare, making zigzags and hitting several people, the police said. The man then got out of his car and, yelling in a loud voice, began randomly stabbing passers-by, including a police officer, with a survival knife.

Japanese television, displaying video that witnesses had captured on cellphones, showed bodies scattered in the area just after the attack. The authorities could be seen trying to revive several victims.

Six men and one woman, ranging in age from 19 years old to 74 years old, died from their injuries, the authorities said.

Link

DPDarkPrimus · Post by **DPDarkPrimus** » 2008-06-08 03:43pm

The BBC has cellphone footage of just after the attacks and audio from a British citizen who was on-scene.

Andrew_Fireborn · Post by **Andrew_Fireborn** » 2008-06-08 05:13pm

*shrug* Amusing.

Not terribly surprising either, given the last suicide rate in japan that I'd heard of was surprisingly high. Eventually, someone was going to turn that rage and numbness outward and attack society.

Anguirus · Post by **Anguirus** » 2008-06-08 05:28pm

"Amusing"?

It might be premature to say that sets a record for dickishness on this site, but it's definitely the worst thing I've seen in awhile. Congrats.

Admiral Valdemar · Post by **Admiral Valdemar** » 2008-06-08 05:43pm

Andrew_Fireborn wrote:*shrug* Amusing.

Not terribly surprising either, given the last suicide rate in japan that I'd heard of was surprisingly high. Eventually, someone was going to turn that rage and numbness outward and attack society.

Are you trying especially hard tonight to be a total wanker, or does it just come naturally? Perhaps you'd like to rethink your original viewpoint before others see that kind of response to this sort of incident.

I bet 9/11 was a veritable barrel of laughs, no?

The Duchess of Zeon · Post by **The Duchess of Zeon** » 2008-06-08 05:53pm

Andrew_Fireborn wrote:*shrug* Amusing.

Not terribly surprising either, given the last suicide rate in japan that I'd heard of was surprisingly high. Eventually, someone was going to turn that rage and numbness outward and attack society.

Do you eat popcorn while watching video footage of the liberation of Buchenwald?

cosmicalstorm · Post by **cosmicalstorm** » 2008-06-08 06:15pm

How common are these killingsprees in Japan?
I remember some guy walked into a japanese school a couple of years ago and did the same thing.
Im suprised it dosent happen more often considering their suiciderates and the amount of fucked up pornography and such that comes out of Japan annually.

DPDarkPrimus · Post by **DPDarkPrimus** » 2008-06-08 07:07pm

Attacks on people seem to be on the rise in recent years, but it's still far rarer than America and the like.

Back during the economic recession you'd hear about salarymen killing their families before committing suicide, but that's a bit different than people going and attacking random bystanders.

Post by **Broomstick** » 2008-06-08 07:11pm

Andrew_Fireborn wrote:*shrug* Amusing.

Random death "amusing"?

Makes me wish I could reach through the modem and punch you in the teeth, I'm sure you'd find that a barrel of laughs.

Sidewinder · Post by **Sidewinder** » 2008-06-08 07:24pm

I'm surprised the article didn't mention brave civilians wrestling the stabber to the ground and kicking away his knife. This reminds me of Voluntaryist's claims that gun control makes civilians sheep, helpless before armed criminals; of course, if private ownership of guns was legal in Japan, the number of casualties would've been significantly higher.

Andrew_Fireborn · Post by **Andrew_Fireborn** » 2008-06-08 08:14pm

Broomstick wrote:
Andrew_Fireborn wrote:*shrug* Amusing.
Random death "amusing"?

Makes me wish I could reach through the modem and punch you in the teeth, I'm sure you'd find that a barrel of laughs.

Yes, I find it quite so when the veil of civility breaks down. As you rather fine example illustrates, it often does so to lesser degrees and under ironic duress.

Does that mean I agree with it? Hardly. Neither do I find stock footage of Nazi atrocities to be fine cinematic fare. I simply find it amusing that a nation that claims a low crime rate, while having one of the highest suicide rates in the world (1 ever fifteen minutes, according to this. More than 30k per year, here.) is "shocked" when one example decides to turn that rage outward.

And I applaud those who overcame themselves to do something about this sociopath. They've earned their humanity, imo.

KlavoHunter · Post by **KlavoHunter** » 2008-06-08 08:17pm

Andrew_Fireborn wrote:Amusing.

Kill yourself.

Andrew_Fireborn · Post by **Andrew_Fireborn** » 2008-06-08 08:24pm

KlavoHunter wrote:
Andrew_Fireborn wrote:Amusing.
Kill yourself.

Thanks for the advise, I'll be sure to put you my will.

Oskuro · Post by **Oskuro** » 2008-06-08 08:29pm

cosmicalstorm wrote: Im suprised it dosent happen more often considering their suiciderates and the amount of fucked up pornography and such that comes out of Japan annually.

Wow! Someone linking porno to violence! How innovative! What's next? Videogames? Role-Playing games? Soft drinks?

Andrew_Fireborn · Post by **Andrew_Fireborn** » 2008-06-08 08:32pm

Clearly hydrogenated corn syrup is the cause of all human hostility.

Dark Hellion · Post by **Dark Hellion** » 2008-06-08 08:37pm

You do realize Japanese porn is so weird and esoteric that it often isn't pornographic to normal individuals correct? Japan's odd fetishes and the reality deprivation that feeds them are well known, so maybe you shouldn't have an idiot knee jerk just because someone mentioned the word porn. The context is important. Or do you think that people who play those Nazi deathcamp simulators or suicide -bomber simulators aren't stupid messed up fucks as well?

aerius · Post by **aerius** » 2008-06-08 08:43pm

LordOskuro wrote:
cosmicalstorm wrote:Im suprised it dosent happen more often considering their suiciderates and the amount of fucked up pornography and such that comes out of Japan annually.
Wow! Someone linking porno to violence! How innovative! What's next? Videogames? Role-Playing games? Soft drinks?

As a Canada Customs worker, I've seen a lot of really fucked up porn from Japan, which is also where the majority of the fucked up stuff comes from. I'm not talking about mild BDSM or lolita porn, I'm talking let's punch the woman in the face till it's a bloody mess and then literally ripping her ass open, complete with blood and piss everywhere. And it gets a lot worse than that. Which is why all that shit is illegal in Canada, and for a good reason. People who make or watch sick violent porn like that are fucked in the head.

CaptainZoidberg · Post by **CaptainZoidberg** » 2008-06-08 09:02pm

aerius wrote:
As a Canada Customs worker, I've seen a lot of really fucked up porn from Japan, which is also where the majority of the fucked up stuff comes from. I'm not talking about mild BDSM or lolita porn, I'm talking let's punch the woman in the face till it's a bloody mess and then literally ripping her ass open, complete with blood and piss everywhere. And it gets a lot worse than that. Which is why all that shit is illegal in Canada, and for a good reason. People who make or watch sick violent porn like that are fucked in the head.

Right, it's screwed up. But what's important here is if violent pornography has a casual relationship with real-world violence.

Dark Hellion · Post by **Dark Hellion** » 2008-06-08 09:09pm

It shows that the person has fantasies that go far beyond basic sadism. Causation isn't important in this instance, the correlation between Japan as a society with deep seated societal problems and their production of pornography that seems to both feed and feed off of said problems is important. The same could be said of Brazil. It seems to be in a contest with Japan to produce the most fucked up porn imaginable, and Brazil is another country that is dealing with deep seated societal problems.

Andrew_Fireborn · Post by **Andrew_Fireborn** » 2008-06-08 09:12pm

Personally, I'm on the "outlet for pent up urges" side of that argument.

On google search for "relationship between porn and violence" the first two hits were feminest antecdotal[/url anti-porn rants, third was [url=http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20061030/152445.shtml]this, with links to here.

Andrew_Fireborn · Post by **Andrew_Fireborn** » 2008-06-08 09:13pm

"Personally, I'm on the "outlet for pent up urges" side of that argument.

On google search for "relationship between porn and violence" the first two hits were feminest antecdotal anti-porn rants, third was this, with links to here."

--------
Bah, fix and delete please.

Tasoth · Post by **Tasoth** » 2008-06-08 09:14pm

Hopefully John Brunner's concept of Muckers doesn't come true. The whole concept of people flipping out from the pressures of over population and life and killing people on a large scale being a common thing is frightening. Unfortunate as this is, I pray that it isn't the start of a new trend amongst those who wig out. The last thing the world needs is to have to worry about whether your shopping market is going to become a killing field.

cosmicalstorm · Post by **cosmicalstorm** » 2008-06-08 09:20pm

LordOskuro wrote:
Wow! Someone linking porno to violence! How innovative! What's next? Videogames? Role-Playing games? Soft drinks?

My english is not very good so maybe my last post came out the wrong way.
I was noting that despite the fact that Japan is a major producer of some of the scariest and most bizarre shit you could ever imagine (look up Guro for example), and not just porn, they dont seem to run into too many wack-ass crimes such as killingsprees or massmurderers.
If there was a correlation between these things then it should show up in a place like Japan, but it dosent.

General Zod · Post by **General Zod** » 2008-06-08 09:27pm

cosmicalstorm wrote: My english is not very good so maybe my last post came out the wrong way.
I was noting that despite the fact that Japan is a major producer of some of the scariest and most bizarre shit you could ever imagine (look up Guro for example), and not just porn, they dont seem to run into too many wack-ass crimes such as killingsprees or massmurderers.
If there was a correlation between these things then it should show up in a place like Japan, but it dosent.

Japan has its share of mass-murders. The news just doesn't make this side of the ocean quite as much. Tsutomu Miyazaki is one of the more prominent examples.

Post by **Darth Wong** » 2008-06-08 09:30pm

Andrew_Fireborn wrote:I simply find it amusing that a nation that claims a low crime rate, while having one of the highest suicide rates in the world (1 ever fifteen minutes, according to this. More than 30k per year, here.) is "shocked" when one example decides to turn that rage outward.

Are you seriously suggesting that they should not have been shocked at this crime? What the fuck is wrong with you, limptard?