Japan shocked, bewildered by random knife killings

Source: Agencies  |   2008-6-9  |     ONLINE EDITION

PASSERS-BY prayed and placed flowers on a busy Tokyo shopping street today where seven people were killed the day before in a stabbing rampage, as Japan tried to make sense of the attack and others like it.

Police arrested a blood-spattered 25-year-old man who they said drove a truck into a crowd of people, then got out and began a frenzied knife attack.

The killings follow a string of similar incidents in recent months, shocking Japan and sparking talk of failing communities and declining morality in a country proud of its low crime rate.

One person was killed in a random stabbing outside a train station north of Tokyo in March, and five were hurt in a similar attack in January. Also in March, a teenager pushed a stranger under a train in western Japan, saying he simply wanted to kill someone.

"Recently, peoples' relationships have become strained," said 29-year-old Taishi Ikeda, who works in the publishing industry. "There's no-one to talk to when you're troubled."

The suspect in yesterday's attack lived alone and had a temporary job at a car factory, media said. He was reported to be a regular visitor to Akihabara, known for high tech electronic products sold alongside "anime" cartoon goods and specialised cafes where waitresses dress as French maids.

Media said he had warned on a mobile phone messaging board on Sunday that he was heading to Akihabara, Tokyo's biggest electronics shopping district, to kill people.

FEELINGS OF FAILURE

"Japan has entered a period of selfishness. People have the feeling that they can do anything," said Jinsuke Kageyama, a criminal psychologist at Tokyo Institute of Technology.

"But when these people fail to fulfil themselves in socially acceptable ways, they are treated as losers and their frustration builds up," he added. "A series of disappointments can lead them to try to regain their sense of self through crime."