A man dressed as the Joker set fire to a train carriage in Tokyo and attacked passengers with a knife on Halloween, leaving 17 injured.
Nikkei Asia reports [1, 2] that Kyota Hattori, 24, had (according to witnesses) spread lighter fluid around the train before starting a fire on the Keio express line for Shinjuku around 8 p.m. JST. Videos on social media show passengers running from the blaze.
https://twitter.com/disclosetv/status/1454784891225362432
One witness told the Yomiuri newspaper “I thought it was a Halloween stunt. Then, I saw a man walking this way, slowly waving a long knife.” He also claimed the knife was bloodied. A man in his 70s was stabbed, and is unconscious and in critical condition.
The train made an emergency stop at Kokuryo Station, but did not stop in the right position. According to operator Keio Corp., staff did not open the doors to prevent anyone falling into the gap between the train and the platform, and the driver was unaware of what had occurred. This resulted in passengers climbing through the train windows in panic.
Another video, seemingly after the incident, shows Hattori calmly smoking while law enforcement surround the carriage. Nikkei Asia note that local media reported Hattori had told authorities he “wanted to kill people so he could be sentenced to death” and had such thoughts since June of this year. He also stated his regret of not having killed anyone in the attack, and adored the character of Joker.
Hattori reportedly told police he targeted the limited express train bound for the city center, as it was the most crowded. Hattori also stated he had failed in work, and had troubles with relationships and friends.
こやつが
京王線の犯人です右手にナイフ
左手にタバコめちゃくちゃ手は震えてたとにかくこいつにむかつきました
すごくみんな必死に逃げて
僕がみんなに窓から出ろ言い死にものぐるいでみんなででてたこいつの前まで来ました本当に許せなかった
殴りたかったです
#京王線#京王線刃物#犯人 pic.twitter.com/fdlLN9nj1Z— TKC (@takahashi9811) October 31, 2021
This is not the first attack on Tokyo railways, with the transport ministry asking for more vigilance from railway companies. On October 15th two men were stabbed at JR Ueno Station. August saw a man stab 10 passengers on a Odakyu Electric Railway commuter train, while two were injured after a man sprayed sulfuric acid in another incident.
After the arson attack on Kyoto Animation in July 2019, the Japanese government introduced new legislation to prevent further attacks. This required customers dispensing gas into containers to provide ID, and give the purpose of their purchase. In April of this year, a 38 year old admitted he wanted to copy the Kyoto Animation attack when he made an arson attack at an idol concert in Tokushima.
This is Nicchiban Culture. In this column, we regularly cover Japanese culture, geek culture, and things related to anime. Please leave feedback and let us know if there’s something you want us to cover!
