Tragedy in Akihabara today (Sunday, June 8th). Are you worried about your safety here in Tokyo, or elsewhere in Japan?
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I can't say I'm a huge fan of Akiba but I was shocked when I read about this - it always seemed like quite a safe place. :(
Up to 7 dead now. I can't believe what that sicko did. It's a testament to how civilized most people here are in that they didn't beat him to death once they pinned him down. I know I wouldn't have been very civilized toward him at all if I were the one who tackled him.
It is all over the TV News in Tokyo. The guy was able to so much damage in so little time. Why didn`t someone try to stop him? When things like that happen I always wonder why people just stand there and let it happen like scared cowards.
To be fair, I think someone or more than one person got a hold of the guy eventually. I'm not sure if he ran out of steam or what, but when you look at the footage of him being taken away by the police, he appears to be bleeding from the head. As for bystanders not doing something sooner, who knows. Those at ground zero were probably in total shock, especially after the guy rammed his truck into the crowd, got out, and started stabbing one of the guys he ran over while screaming insanely (don't ask why I know this detail; I just do). But, it does seem to be the case that these guys usually run out of gas (figuratively speaking) and give themselves up or are tackled while in a tired state.
Like I said, I don't think I would've held back anything if I'd been there, especially if someone I knew and cared about was one of his victims, but... I wasn't there so...
According to the Mainichi Daily News, Kato was confronted by a police officer with a gun and tossed the knife. Apparently, not the work of any good samaritans. And, the video footage of able-bodied men fleeing as Kato ran by was a little disheartening.
Sometimes bring so passive can be a bad thing. Take people`s guns away and things like this happen.
People never had guns in Japan, so technically they couldn't ever take them away. Japan didn't have a "wild west" that they needed to conquer. In America at the time of the revolution or the writing of the Bill of Rights, guns were extremely uncommon. It was only after the Civil War when soldiers returned home and kept their rifles and during the westward expansion when common people needed guns to hunt and protect themselves that guns in the hands of non-military personnel became common. Japan is not America and did not have any similar period in its history.
Well thank you Mr. Obvious
I totally have to disagree with you there! If guns were allowed in Japan then this guy would have used a gun to kill even more people.
Totally disagree with you on that. Scroll down to see why.
Guns are for protection not attack. Sure there will always be some nut who tries to take a gun and kill people for no reason but if most people have a gun he will think twice before going on a killing spree. You have to understand that I am a Libertarian and being such I naturally am also pro-gun.
Libertarians believe in freedom of choice. I completely agree that people should have the right to bear arms, but I would hope they choose not to. Unfortunately, modern society is a pressure cooker, and even sensible people can fly off the handle when things turn sour. In these situations, you better hope they chose not to have a gun.
This guy in Akihabara went crazy and did all the damage he could with a vehicle and a knife. There's no doubt he would have done even worse with a firearm.
I understand your point. Modern society is a pressure cooker and even the most sane person can be driven to doing something crazy as hell. The reason I think that the Japanese should have the right to carry firearms is that even if he had a gun there would have been someone else with a gun as well that could have shot him and stopped him dead in his tracks before he could have hurt anyone.
I can think of a million reasons why guns in the hands of citizens would be particularly bad in Japan...
I agree with Nick and Mike; If this guy had had a gun, there would've been a higher death toll.
I'd hate to think how many would have ended up shot because some bystander whipped out his gun like he was Bat Masterson and let the lead fly or some nervous otaku type whose only previous shooting practice was on his PS3 or Wii or whatever, decided he/she had to make a stand.
Yes, I think there are other solutions here than arming citizens. A more proactive police force would be a good start. No heavy-handed tactics or abuse of power, just good old-fashioned crime prevention, not response-only policing.
Yeah, the thought of thousands of otaku walking around Akihabara with guns, or even knives, is truly frightening.
Yes it is! They would probably end up shooting themselves in the foot!
I think that is totally wrong. If people were allowed to have guns in Japan than he would have had one too and would have inflicted even more damage as that was his goal in the first place.
Guns make it easy to kill people plain and simple. Thankfully all the guy had was a knife. If he had a gun far more people would be dead. Yeah if the public could carry guns, someone might have shot him. The thing is I hear about people getting shot in America all the time, but how many times do those sorts of incidents end with a member of the public shooting the attacker? Never.
It might be nice to think that if you were there and had a gun that you would have been able to prevent more deaths from happening. Unfortunately, it's just not realistic.
If you had been there and were also armed with a gun it would still have taken you a while to assess the situation, pull the gun out and ready it to take the shot. (That's of course if you even had a clean shot.) There is also the chance that you might shoot someone else accidentally in the process. Of course while this is all happening he probably would have killed even more people.
I agree with Nick, Mike and Billywest. Sorry freedomwv but Mike did make a very good case. As to this crypnotic character, really did not get where he was coming from at all!!
One thing I'd like to add - I really really did not like the 'Do you fear getting stabbed in Japan?' poll. Things like this happen all the time, it's no reason to create a climate of fear.
I think the poll is a regular feature on the 7:10, and if this particular question does play a part in creating fear, that just shows how easily we get scared. It's television that really plays on our fears. The non-stop coverage of this attack and the dramatic music they play is designed to frighten us. Why? Because a) we keep watching, and b) we can be easily manipulated. Manipulating the viewer is important, not least to help the advertisers sell their products, but anyway, I doubt Billy is quite that evil in his intentions ;)
Thanks, Nick. That's right; the poll was meant to be used as a measuring stick of sorts. I wanted to find out how people feel about the issue. 80 people have voted so far and 64% say 'no' while 36% say 'yes.' Almost 2/3 of the voters said 'no.' The result seems fairly positive, I think. I guess I do sometimes play Devil's advocate with the polls, but it isn't like this is a non-issue. Given that minor random slashings are a fairly common occurrence, I think the question is relevant. Of course, attacks of this magnitude are not everyday occurrences, there have been three this year: the incident in Shinagawa, the one in Ibaraki, and now the Akihabara one. To just say, "Meh, these things happen" is something I can't do. Believe me, the local news has played this up a lot more than my poll ever could.
I would feel a lot more safe if I could have a gun in Japan, but I cannot so there is no reason for me to desire a gun in Japan. In America I owned two guns. I felt safe because I did not have to depend on the government or the police to protect me. I was able to protect myself. I am one of those people who do not trust the government or police to protect me. They exist to control me not to protect me.
Japan is a very different culture. The Japanese tend to be much more peaceful than Americans.Crime is also much lower in Japan; not because of less guns on the street but because Japanese tend to be less violent and respect each other a little more. There have been several stabbings this year in Japan but it is not like it has become a huge problem. For the most part a gun is really not needed in Japan. I just felt safer when I had a gun.
And it continues to go on and on and on. Nearly a week has passed and all you see on TV is analysis of Akihabara. The coverage is worse than the Chinese gyoza scandal, and that's saying something!