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Police in Okazaki, Aichi Prefecture, arrested a man who held a hostage at knifepoint for five hours in a 7-Eleven convenience store on Monday morning.
According to police, Yasuhito Suzuki, 32, entered the store at around 3 a.m., Fuji TV reported. Wielding a knife, he told the 28-year male part-time employee that he wasn't after money, and then ordered him and a second employee, 19, to go into the office at the back of the store and bring some alcohol.
When a customer came into the store, the 19-year-old employee went out to serve him but fled the store with the customer and alerted police.
Police arrived about 30 minutes later. Suzuki ordered the hostage to call police and tell them not to enter the store or he would be killed.
The situation remained unchanged until around 8 a.m. when police saw Suzuki near the front of the store, at which point, police entered and apprehended Suzuki.
The hostage sustained a light injury to his chin, police said.
Suzuki, who is unemployed, was quoted by police as saying he wasn't happy with his life and that he wanted to do something big. Police said he had been drinking wine during the standoff.
© Japan Today
17 Comments
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WilliB
So "something big" in his mind was bullying a 7-11 part timer?
F4HA604
This incident was such a waste of an entire morning's pre-work news watching time.
khulifi
It was nice end that no one injured ...
fuzzylogic
"This incident was such a waste of an entire morning's pre-work news watching time."
but its necessary for the world to see what goes on in Japan, (its educational contrary to past prehistoric, prefabricated perceptions)and its not only on this website dude, its on many, and will continue to grow even on youtube.
sensei258
Let's see how happy you are with your life during your long prison stay.
Well this incident won't look good on your resume
FizzBit
The lack of imagination of some is just staggering. This story reminds of the US father who robbed a bank recently to pay for his baby's chemotherapy after finding out his insurance was canceled. BIG difference.
Bad2Dbone
now he can say,,,"I was drunk,,,I don't remember anything" excuse,
we all now the drill.
Kobe White Bar Owner
This was all over the news this morning interestingly enough nothing about 120000 people protesting the proposed security bill, i wonder why......
nath
I watched this live this morning. The police timed the storming of the store very well, they came in right behind him as he had turned his back and was walking back towards the office. Unfortunately we couldn't see the takedown, as it happened in the office, which couldn't be seen through the glass windows.
smithinjapan
Well, let's see... the guy is unemployed, and drinking wine while holding some part-timers hostage because he's 'unhappy with his life'. I'm guessing alcoholic, lives at home. Probably couldn't get a job, or was fired, or both, because of his life-style (in which drinking plays a big part).
In any case, YOU have the power to make your life better, and clearly this guy used that power to not only suggest it was up to others to provide him with a better life, but to actually make his life worse than it already was. Hope that wee bit of wine was worth all the trouble, because while it might give the guy a bit of stability and ween him off the hooch (if that is indeed a problem), methinks prison life won't make him feel all that much better about himself, during OR after.
Monozuki
Chances were that if he had not drunk wine or booze he could not have been able to commit such an outrage.
wontond
30 minutes for the police to arrive seems like quite a long time.
misunderstood
Well at least he can say he was drinking!
hero77
fuzzylogic, what how did you make this article about how horrible japan is, common that getting old every country has problems let just leave it at that
Dennis Bauer
I was about to go to work at 8 when they showed it live on TV and suddenly the police rushed in.
Kenny Iyekawa
"Police said he had been drinking wine during the standoff"
赤玉スイートワイン?? Cue up G'n'R's 'Nighttrain'...
John-San
THis story is wrong it is not 7 Eleven it is a 7 & I Holdings outlet. Timor Leste is not East Timor, Myimai is not Burma. Those are not name change just to change there name. There is a purpose behind these changes and these changes should be respected.