August 2021 Tokyo stabbings

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2021 Tokyo stabbings
Odakyu 5000 Series (2 Generations) 5051F ver.2.jpg
An Odakyu train
LocationSetagaya Ward, Tokyo, Japan
Date6 August 2021 (2021-08-06)
8:30 p.m. (JST)
Attack type
Mass stabbing, attempted arson
WeaponsKnife
Deaths0
Injured9[1]
MotiveAlleged/claimed sexual and romantic rejection by women
Jealousy[2]
AccusedYusuke Tsushima[3]

A mass stabbing incident occurred on 6 August 2021, at a commuter train in the Odakyu Electric Railway in Tokyo, Japan. The suspect, a 36-year-old man named Yusuke Tsushima, was arrested hours later at a convenience store. Police have so far charged him with the attempted murder of a woman who sustained serious injuries to her back and chest. The suspect also tried to start a fire on the train's compartment, which ultimately failed.

Background[]

Although Japan ranks amongst the countries with the lowest crimes rates,[4] incidents of mass stabbings are not uncommon.[5] In 2008, a 25-year-old man committed the Akihabara massacre, killing seven people. Eight years prior, Mamoru Takuma murdered eight children at an elementary school in the Osaka school massacre. In 2016, 26-year-old Satoshi Uematsu committed one of the most serious incidents of mass murder in Japan since World War II, when he stabbed 19 severely disabled people to death at a care center. Further incidents happened again in 2008 when Masahiro Kanagawa killed a man and injured scores of others with a knife and most recently, the Kawasaki stabbings in 2019, when a man who self-identified as a hikikomori, killed two schoolchildren and injured 18 others at a bus stop before killing himself.

Incident[]

At around 8:30 pm (JST: UTC+9) on 6 August 2021,[6] Yusuke Tsushima, age 36,[7] began stabbing people indiscriminately on a commuter train in Setagaya Ward, injuring four women and five men.[8] The train was immediately halted and Tsushima spread cooking oil on the compartment's floor and tried to ignite a fire before escaping.[9] Police rapidly responded to the incident, with a woman being transported to hospital with serious stab wounds to her chest and back.[6]

Tsushima, who had been suspected of shoplifting earlier in the day,[10] remained at large amidst a manhunt for hours.[11] He finally entered a convenience store hours after the incident in Suginami Ward and informed the store employee that he was the suspect saying "I am the suspect in the incident reported by news media. I am tired of fleeing". The store employee quickly informed police and Tsushima was apprehended.[12]

Although police opened an investigation, Tsushima was quoted as saying that he had been wanting to "kill a happy woman for the past six years"[13] and added that the day of the incident "anyone would have been OK".[8] He also stated that he thought "he could kill a large number of people given there's no space to escape inside a train".[14]

Tokyo Police charged him later with the attempted murder of the seriously injured woman and other charges. Tsushima is a native of Kawasaki, Kanagawa.[1]

On 8 August 2021, Tsushima was sent to the prosecutors, where he said that he was ultimately motivated to commit the crime when he faced online rejection from women and regretted that he had not killed anyone, quoted as saying that the fact that no one had died was "unfortunate" for him. He also said that his life was a misery and blamed society.[15]

Plan to bomb Shibuya Crossing[]

On 10 August 2021, Tsushima reiterated his intent to target "happy-looking couples" in his attack and told police he considered bombing the famous Shibuya Crossing in Tokyo. Tsushima told investigators that he was willful in his intent to kill the seriously injured woman on the train because she looked like a "winner" in life. Police formally re-arrested him after the interrogation.[16]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ a b "9 passengers stabbed or punched on Tokyo train, suspect detained". Kyodo News. 7 August 2021. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  2. ^ "Man arrested in Tokyo train stabbings had difficulties with personal relationships". The Japan Times. 8 August 2021. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
  3. ^ "Suspect detained after stabbing 10 on Tokyo train". Taipei Times. 8 August 2021. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  4. ^ "Homicide and Robbery Rates Extremely Low in Japan". Nippon.com. 23 December 2020. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  5. ^ Sato, Mai (29 May 2019). "Despite Japan's low crime rates, it's seen a number of mass stabbings in the past decade". The Conversation. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  6. ^ a b "Tokyo train stabbing suspect hoped to kill 'as many as possible'". The Asahi Shimbun. 7 August 2021. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  7. ^ AP (7 August 2021). "Man Arrested After Injuring 10 With Knife On Tokyo Train". NPR.org. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  8. ^ a b "Knife attacker on Tokyo commuter train wanted to kill 'happy women'". The Japan Times. 7 August 2021. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  9. ^ Parveen, Shafia (7 August 2021). "Man who stabbed at least 10 people on Tokyo train for 'looking happy' arrested". First Post. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  10. ^ Castronuovo, Celine (7 August 2021). "Japanese police arrest man who stabbed 10 people on Tokyo train". The Hill. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  11. ^ AP (7 August 2021). "Man arrested after at least 10 people stabbed on Tokyo train". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  12. ^ Maruyama, Mayumi (7 August 2021). "At least 10 people injured in stabbings on Tokyo train". CNN. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  13. ^ "Knife attacker on Tokyo commuter train wanted to kill 'happy women'- NHK". Reuters. 7 August 2021. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  14. ^ "10 injured in knife attack on Tokyo train". News india. 7 August 2021. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  15. ^ "Man arrested in train stabbings suffered rejection in relationships". Kyodo News. 8 August 2021. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
  16. ^ "Man in train knife rampage thought of bombing landmark Shibuya Crossing". Kyodo News. 10 August 2021. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
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