crime

Suspect arrested after man shoved off train platform in Machida

23 Comments

Police on Saturday said they have arrested a 44-year-old man on suspicion of attempted murder after he shoved another man off the platform onto the tracks at JR Machida Station in Tokyo on Friday.

Police identified the suspect as Tatsuya Yamazaki, a real estate company employee, Fuji TV reported.

According to police, the incident occurred at around 6:30 a.m. Fuji TV reported that a 36-year-old office worker who was on his way to work got into an argument with another man after bumping into his shoulder. The second man then shoved him off the platform.

The man who fell onto the tracks was able to get back up onto the platform before the next train arrived. Police said he suffered a back injury.

Police said witnesses told them at first that the perpetrator ran up the stairs and left the station. However, Yamazaki -- who has admitted to the charge -- said he left the station by getting onto a train.

He was identified through platform surveillance camera footage, police said.

Yamazaki was quoted by police as saying he was angry after being bumped into and that he shoved the man but denied any intent to kill.

Editor's note: This story has been updated to include the arrest of a suspect.

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23 Comments
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He was described as being in his 40s to 50s, of average height and weight and dressed like a salaryman

Might never find him then.

4 ( +6 / -2 )

Might never find him then.

Indeed, yes, that description fits how many Japanese men on a weekday morning?! Of course, with the abundance of CCTV cameras around these days, there might be some hope of catching images of him.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Hmmmmm. Machida is a station my wife often passes through. There is a lot of different people from many different places passing through there to work... I'd say at around 6:30am there is a good chance of finding him using cameras. He could have left 2 ways...up the main stairs which goes past the ticket office and near OIOI which has loads of cameras...or out the back way which comes out onto a street with I don't know how many cameras... All in all, lets hope they catch this guy...I don't want to bump into him ;)

0 ( +2 / -2 )

JR might be able to id him he, if he tapped out with his suica to leave the station.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

The police are usually pretty good at finding people after these incidents, even with a lacking description.

2 ( +4 / -2 )

Maybe when he sees the description the police put out he will think, "Oh no, they are on to me," and turn himself in.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

He was described as being in his 40s to 50s, of average height and weight and dressed like a “salaryman.”

That should narrow it down to a few thousand at Machida station. He should be hard to catch though. He's probably used the same train at the same time for twenty years and there are cameras everywhere. He should be charged with attempted murder.

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

One of my two local stations, the other one being Odakyu. The chap is question is lucky that this happened at the JR station, where the Yokohama Line stops about every ten minutes. If it had been early morning on the Odakyu Line (once described as the most crowded trains in Japan), he might well have been killed.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

since victim did not die...creep will turn himself in soon once he learns guy didnt die.

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

I used to change trains there when going to work. Too bad I didn't bump into him....he would have been UNCONSCIOUS on the tracks and not ABLE to get up.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

Maybe some reader can help me. I've always wanted to know how the police can identify and find someone or learn their address based on an image taken from surveillance camera footage. Anybody know?

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Brainiac. Maybe they match the video to his commuter pass. They'll have his address.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Brainiac: Maybe some reader can help me. I've always wanted to know how the police can identify and find someone or learn their address based on an image taken from surveillance camera footage. Anybody know?

There's automatic systems available. Don't know to what extent local-through-national police use them.

Doesn't Japan have something similar to China's block warden system? Local cops on the beat keep notes on the residents in their assigned neighborhoods? There was an article or post not long ago about a Japanese cop who wrote down details from local gossip such as sudden wealth (new car, new TV) coming to a family. They might know a lot of the residents by sight, and could ID them from CCTV shots.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facial_recognition_system#Notable_users_and_deployments

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Another Japanese whack job who was irritated and attempt d murder as a result. Does this guy, and people like him, think the other inmates in prison will apologize for bumping into him? And as for denying an attempt to kill, what did he think would happen by pushing someone on the platform? the guy would get up and discover he had won the lottery? Intended or not, he should be charged with attempted murder and locked up. Hopefully he learns his lesson in prison when he pushes someone for bumping into him.

-2 ( +2 / -4 )

"man.. shoved another man off the platform onto the tracks... [because] he was angry after being bumped"

Such a polite country. Model citizens. Famous for it. I can't wait for the Olympics!! ;-)

0 ( +1 / -1 )

The police are usually pretty good at finding people after these incidents, even with a lacking description.

@Strangerland

You were right — and the police found the guy very quickly at that.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

The story seems to have been updated at 13h10 - since they apparently did catch the perpetrator...

1 ( +1 / -0 )

End of the line for the perp then. Let's hope there's no mis-carriage of justice.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Tatsuya Yamazaki, a real estate company employee,

Having the misfortune of having to deal with several real-estate agents Japan in my time, this behaviour kind of does not shock me. There are rotten apples and anti-social people in every industry to be sure, but the real-estate industry - for reasons I don't know - seems to attract more than their fair share of these passive-aggressive, short-fused men.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

@Strangerland,

The article was completely changed to a new article, leaving the old comments which now don't make sense. There should be some indication that the article has been edited as of whatever time it was edited.

Spot on! This has happened before and I have noted this as well. JT deletes the entire text of the original article and replaces it with updated text, but not the article placeholder with all of the original comments. So, it makes all of the comments look completely ridiculous.

JT Mods: Seriously, this is a problem. It makes a mockery of those of us who comment. You need to do one of two things. 1) Keep the original article and include an update at the end of the original text, with an updated header. This would allow you to have one article, but would ensure that readers would see the comments to the original story in their context.; 2) Just create a new article and restart the comments, and archive the previous article.

Thanks for your attention to this.

Moderator: The later time indicates that the story has been updated.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

I know when I first came out to Japan, it irked me in the beginning when I got bumped into without any sort of apology. Got used to it quick which is what this guy should have been if he is in Tokyo at a major station.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Apparently Machida Station STILL doesn't have platform barriers. Incredible...

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

Serrano: Apparently Machida Station STILL doesn't have platform barriers. Incredible...

Apparently it's possible ... where there's a will there's a way ...

1 ( +1 / -0 )

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