Man arrested for kicking Ueno station attendant onto train tracks

Police have charged a man with attempted murder after he kicked a JR Ueno Station employee off the platform and onto the train tracks.

According to police, the suspect, identified as Daisuke Sato, 39, kicked a 30-year-old male station employee from behind on the Utsunomiya line platform at around 8:50 p.m. Sunday.

Fuji TV reported that a train was pulling into the station about 100 meters away as the employee fell onto the tracks, but the driver was able to apply the emergency brake in time. The station employee sustained only minor injuries.

Sato, who was held by station staff until police arrived, was quoted as saying: "The station attendant had grabbed my 70-year-old father by the collar for some reason. I thought he was attacking him and I lost my temper."

Police said both Sato and his father had been out drinking before the incident. The father was also arrested for assaulting the station attendant.

The station attendant told police he had seen Sato's father walking unsteadily, bumping into other commuters waiting on the platform and had been trying to calm him down.

© Japan Today