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The Japanese “Joker” Set A Train On Fire and Went on a Knife Attack
The knife attack and arson in Tokyo on Halloween night.
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“I thought it was a Halloween prank,”
-Passenger on train
Although less than a decade ago, Halloween was not a popular holiday in Japan and was only celebrated by foreigners living in Japan who would dress up and go to clubs, now it has become one of the busiest nights of the year.
Some of the biggest areas of Tokyo like Shibuya and Roppongi are not only filled with foreigners dressed in costumes but thousands of Japanese people who want to join in the fun. Over the years the crowds have become so big and vibrant that police have had to set up roadblocks, line up for crowd control, and even have blaring announcements from police trucks to move in an orderly fashion.
Halloween before Covid, the crowds were so bad and rowdy that they had to ban the sale of alcohol in the Shibuya area and riots broke out including people jumping on top of cars and vandalizing property.
This October 31, 2021, was the first year the crowds returned as last year’s event was canceled. Once again the crowds flooded the streets of Shibuya in cosplay and many were without masks. Social distancing was impossible and because many young people aren’t affected by Covid or have already been vaccinated, were much bolder than before.
However, this was not the worst thing about Halloween 2021 in Tokyo.
Those watching the news around the world might have seen images of a train set on fire and people running to escape both the flames and a man who was carrying a 30 cm or 12-inch knife. The 24-year-old man was wearing a purple suit and carrying the knife as a homage to the Joker character.
Americans seeing this news were probably reminded of the 2012 Colorado shooting where a man named James…
