Izakaya owner fatally stabbed by customer in Saitama

maybe they ran out of edamame the last time he was there and he wasn't happy?

"Police said he has admitted to the charge but gave no motive."

Welcome to Japan, where motives either don't exist in murders such as these, or are based on a whim.

People here are wound up too tightly, and snap too extremely as a result.

Sounds like this guy knew the owner and had some kind of beef with him. If he did bring the knife from home, then it was premeditated and therefore he must have had some kind of motive.

Probably just another drunk who snapped after being thrown out. That's the scary thing about Japan; Alcoholics are a dime a dozen and could (and do) go off at any time.

Does anyone know what the crime rates are in Saitama? There seems to be a major reported crime there almost daily.

S7ro9kGm3aQ, I was wondering the same thing...

Does anyone know what the crime rates are in Saitama? There seems to be a major reported crime there almost daily.

The majority of the city (it is massive) is working class, so no doubt that explains a lot of the crime such as burglary, alcohol related violence and assaults. However, there are also good areas in Saitama: my girlfriends brother and his wife and kids live in a pretty nice part that seems quite safe.

So, the guy comes in holding the knife and no one suspected a thing when he called for the owner? Bizarre. Maybe the employees thought he wanted the owner to sharpen it for him. RIP and condolences to the man's family.

My marriage lines were. We can live anywhere in Japan except Saitama. That was over 10 years ago. This article and hundreds reported in years go by is proof that my J partner was and is so right about this place. Dodgy.

Unbelievable. Some guy staggers into a izakaya, holding a knife, and asks for the owner. Seeming a show he was fixing to kill the poor dude, he likely had a unsettled look about him. Of course, the helpful staff at the izakaya, upon seeing a crazy drunk wander in with a knife, go and get the boss, likely not warning him that the guy that wanted to see him was some drunk nutter with a knife. Alhtough its good to hear that the patrons jumped the guy and tried to get the knife away, albeit a little bit too late. Condolences to the family.

For those who don't know what or where it is, Saitama is a reservation on the northern outskirts of Tokyo.

"Police said he has admitted to the charge but gave no motive."

i think people always do have motives, but might lack the personal insight to define one, or the courage to admit to one. police psychologists really ought to understand this and develop ways to get to the root of it, but probably as long as the perp confesses i doubt anyone cares to dig deeper

For those who don't know what or where it is, Saitama is a reservation on the northern outskirts of Tokyo.

I see your joke. And I like it.

Poor guy. Probably did'nt know what hit him. Imagine just finishing cooking the chau-han and you get a knife to the cut. Thats just weird. I don't know what it is about Japan but there seems to always be so much "Falling Down" (see Kirk Douglas movie) incidents.

BurakuminDes:

...and all of these areas in Japan are far safer than most parts (per capita) in North American cities and the U.K. so let's face it Japan is still a very safe place no matter where you live.

We hear more about these issues because they (still) are not as common as say in cities like L.A., Seattle, Dallas, Chicago, Toronto, New York, Boston, Phoenix, Vancouver, Detroit, Buffalo, Miami, St. Louis, Altanta, etc.

Sure more people walk in front of a train in Japan per capita but when it comes to attacks against another, Japan is quite tame. Get over it and live your life.

Oh and to boot with BurakuminDes' observation of 'dodgy areas, Yokohama and Roppongi are they way they are because of the 'foreigner' that mess up the place. Take 'them' out of the area and it would seem to be just like other parts of Japan.

South Osaka is safe. I spent over 15 years around the Kansai area. Places like Tennoji which everyone claims is so scary is far safer at 11pm on a street counting out 1,000,000 yen while having 900,000 yen worth of DSLR body and lens hanging around your neck. Just try that in any city the size of Osaka in North America. I'd say you'll be mugged within a minute.

Saitama rules! Loads of fun to be had here.

If you want to live a long life, never go to izakaya. Those who frequent izakayas will have health problems, from drinking or stabbing.

poor guy. probably put too much msg on the yaki-tori, not knowing buddy was allergic...

If I were the owner, I would have come out with two big cleavers, or go out the back door.

The man walked into the pub HOLDING the knife? And no one thought to call the police? Did anyone WARN the proprietor that the customer who wanted to see him was drunk and wielding a knife? Call me crazy, but if some drunk guy came wandering into my establishment holding a 10 inch blade and asking to see the manager, I'd get the cops on the phone PRONTO.

Good on the other patrons for trying to get the knife away from the man, though it would have been nice if they'd done it BEFORE Tsujimoto-san was stabbed. But hey, at least he wasn't able to abscond into the night with a bloody knife and disappear. I'll be interested to find out the motive behind this crime.

RIP, Tsujimoto-san.

The man walked into the pub HOLDING the knife? And no one thought to call the police?

How does one arrive at this conclusion based on the article above??

"Police said he has admitted to the charge but gave no motive."

Welcome to Japan, where motives either don't exist in murders such as these, or are based on a whim.

People here are wound up too tightly, and snap too extremely as a result.

Senseless murders are unique to Japan? Don't think so.