'Murder mission' man stabs 17 in Tokyo

[Supa Dexta]

TOKYO, Japan (AP) -- A man police said was on a murder mission plowed into pedestrians with a truck in a crowded Tokyo neighborhood Sunday and then stabbed 17 people in three minutes, killing at least seven in a grisly attack that shocked Japan.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/06/08/japan.attack.ap/index.html

[Eleanor]

Wow, RIP to the victims, so random and senseless.

[Antonito]

yikes, what a nutjob

[eblend]

Thats fucked up. Talked to my fiance and she said that alot of young people in Japan are tired of life and too scared to die by themselves, so they take other people with them. In this case, the guy didn't kill himself, but you get the idea.

Japan is still the safest country in the world, but violance is definately picking up.

[2002civic]

wow RIP

[Graham_A_M]

Originally posted by eblend

Japan is still the safest country in the world, but violance is definately picking up.

I think we have westernization to thank for all this.

[Schwa]

Originally posted by Graham_A_M


I think we have westernization to thank for all this.

You think so? My first instinct would be their high stress long hours of work lifestyle.

I could be off base here, but also they have a strong sense of honor and pride there which may cause them to bottle up a ton of stuff in order to maintain an image.

These two things would be a pretty good cause for a guy to snap and go on a murder spree

[nightfx]

That's with a knife :( , imagine if he had a gun. :eek:

[mark4091]

Thats nuts...

[Gainsbarre]

Originally posted by nightfx
That's with a knife :( , imagine if he had a gun. :eek:

Yes, well guns are VERY tightly regulated in Japan. If someone goes homocidal it's always with a knife, it seems...

[badatusrnames]

Originally posted by Graham_A_M


I think we have westernization to thank for all this.

No, I think you have Japanese culture to thank for this.

I'm sure someone more knowledgeable about Japan might be able to correct me, but it seems to be a combination of high pressure and high stress working environments with long hours, cramped living quarters and little privacy and a culture that seems to place emphasis on conformity and leaves little emotional outlets.

[AG_Styles]

I was there. It came as a big shock to everyone who heard about it. Everyone heard about it immediately. around 17 ambulances showed up and downtown Tokyo was just sounding of non stop sirens.

First, it could happen to any culture. I love how people immediately point to culture influences for any sort of reasoning. It was simply a maniac who snapped. It's happened often in North America, now it happened in Japan 7 years to the day another maniac stormed an elementary school and killed a few kids.

It's the specific individual who is more at fault than the culture differences. Someone who isn't right in the head will do extreme and mindless things despite whatever culture they may be from.

[Altezza]

I just returned from Japan. Glad I missed this. People in Japan have too much honour to drag people down with them if it's due to stress and lifestyle. They would take themselves down, and only themselves.