Attempted murder at a Japanese train station

Suspect says stranger “was in my way”.

At 1:10 in the afternoon on 26 December, a man pushed a woman onto the railroad tracks at JR Kita-Toda Station in Niizo, Toda City, Saitama Prefecture.

According to station staff, the woman was pushed as she walked past a man who was in line for the train on the platform. The 23-year-old Saitama resident fell when she was pushed on her right shoulder, two minutes before a train was due to arrive. She was rescued by several bystanders.

▼ It’s not uncommon for commuters to use the section in front of the yellow line as a path, especially on crowded platforms, despite warnings to stay behind the yellow line.

After the incident, the woman boarded a train to Tokyo, and upon alighting in the capital, she contacted the station to report the matter. Staff then contacted police shortly after 4:15 p.m.

The following morning, station staff began patrolling the vicinity, and at around 1:45 p.m. they found a man in similar clothes who fit the description of the suspect. After brief questioning, staff asked him to accompany them to their office voluntarily, and the man agreed.

The 53-year-old man, a resident of Akabanedai in Tokyo’s Kita Ward, subsequently admitted to his involvement in the incident, saying he pushed the stranger because “she was in my way“.

That’s no reason to throw someone onto the tracks, and the man has since been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.

There was no prior trouble between the woman and the man who pushed her, and neither of them knew each other. The woman sustained injuries to her lower back area in the fall.

People online were troubled to hear about the incident, saying:

“Attempted murder? That’s serious.”
“I don’t know the exact situation, but even if she was in the way, his actions are inexcusable.”
“This isn’t the first time I’ve heard about this sort of thing happening — it’s always best to avoid walking in front of the yellow line.”
“It’s not uncommon for people to get in the way of others unknowingly at train stations…”
“The number of frustrated commuters has really increased recently.”

With train crimes becoming more frequent in recent months, this latest report isn’t doing anything to calm people’s nerves in Japan. It also demonstrates the need for more safety devices, like these rising and falling barriers, to be installed at stations around the country.

Source: Saitama Shimbun via Yahoo! News via Jin
Featured image: Pakutaso
Insert image: Pakutaso (1, 2)
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