crime

82-yr-old man fatally stabs neighbor after argument over shogi

24 Comments

Police arrested an 82-year-old man on Sunday for attempted murder after he allegedly stabbed his 67-year-old neighbor in the heat of an argument over the game of shoji outside of their homes in Taito Ward. Akira Otsuka was rushed to the hospital but died approximately three hours later. Police said they will change the charge against Ko Akemitsu to murder on Monday.

According to police, at around 1:30 p.m., Akemitsu had come outside to caution Otsuka, who was playing shogi on the sidewalk. An argument erupted and Akemitsu allegedly stabbed Otsuka twice in the left side with a knife that had a 12.3-cm-long blade.

The two men had reportedly never met before the incident. Akemitsu was quoted by police as saying: "I stabbed him because he didn't listen to me." However, he later denied the charges, police said.

Police believe shogi was the cause of the argument and are currently looking for more details.

© News reports

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24 Comments
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I thought chess was supposed to be a peaceful alternative to conflict.

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I stabbed him because he didn’t listen to me.

Ah, terrific. The mind of a petulent child. Alive and well in the Japanese male population.

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It is a proof that shogi is a passionate sport. However I do not want shogi to turn into soccer where hooligans fight over a lossed game. It is so sad that a man died after a fight over a game.

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another temper problem here..

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with a knife that had a 12.3-cm-long blade.

The long blade knife is forbidden to carry but still it's in market circulation though.

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What a sad statement on the state of society. In the old days gentlemen in this country used to settle their arguments by "chopsticks at dawn," but now it seems that the knife culture has infected the geriatric brigade as well.

Just out of interest, if this case ends up in court before the suspect expires of old age, I wonder if the cops will also press charges for the size of the knife as well. As sakura correctly points out, carrying such a large knife these days is in breach of the Swords and Firearms Act.

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The mystery of chessboxing

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it's a good job he played shogi and not those violent video games. who knows what he might have done

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i first thought they were playing shogi together, but it's actually that the man who was killed was playing shogi by himself outside of his house and the guy who killed him simply didn't like that.. i mean.. COME OOOONNNN!!!! what's the big deal someone playing shogi quietly outside of HIS house!! nobody's business.. I don't understand why he had to be killed :(

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Wow....what he have done if his grandkids didn't listen??????

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Random, unpredictable violence is not uncommon among people in this age group. He's probably suffering from some form of dementia.

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Neighbor, two Japanese people, he'll only get 2-5 years at max.

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This guy just happened to have a knife on him?

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Always, ALWAYS carry your shank with you to shogi games. Don't know what to expect from those punk seniors.

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Really, when are we going to get that 'random murder of the day' section? So today it was an argument with a neighbour over shogi, eh? Again, do these people stop and think for even two seconds about what they're doing? The old coot may actually GET to play shogi in prison though... who knows?

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However, he later denied the charges

Prosecutor: why did you stab him? Akemitsu : I stabbed him because he wouldn't listen to me. Prosecutor: what were you trying to tell him? Akemitsu : Not to make the Gold general do back diagonals. Its against the rules! Prosecutor: what....its against the rules to stab people to death too! Akemitsu : I didn't do anything.

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It is a proof that shogi is a passionate sport.

except that its not a sport at all...its a game...tiny difference

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Ban the shogi!!!

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fishy: I had the same thought at first too when I read the headline. Totally crazy, isn't it?! smithinjapan: Yes, a 'random murder of the day' section might be required. This is getting as absurd as it is disturbing!

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If a 67 guy stabs the 82 year old, that's more believable, not acceptable of course. But the other way around, makes even less sense. Not that this is anything but an act of insanity, but still....They must have been wagering money and not just playing for fun.

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Mentally disturbed indeed. Where do they get these people from? Make that "random bizarre murder of the day." Seems to be getting more and more prevalent.

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[Police believe shogi was the cause of the argument and are currently looking for more details.] --- And Police determine that sports and exercise may also be harmful or fatal to your health.

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LOL @ 'Random Murder of the Day' section!

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...WTH? The man was playing SHOGI. What could possibly be so aggravating about a man playing shogi that would lead to murder? Was he whooping and hollering every time he made a move? Was he using exploding pieces? Was this some kind of Wizard's Shogi? seriously, what the hell.

So one week we have the old man chasing the old woman and stabbing her to death because she didn't want him feeding stray cats. Now we've got an old man stabbing another old man to death over a game of shogi. Japan had better be careful, or its aging population is going to kill itself off too fast for the younger generation to NOT have babies to replace them!

(...that last sentence made sense in my head...)

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