At Least 19 Dead in Japan Knife Attack, Story Developing [Video]


Tragic news from Japan: the BBC is reporting that there are at least 19 dead, and several more wounded, in a Japan knife attack that took place at an assisted care facility in the city of Sagamihara.

Japan Knife Attack: What Do We Know So Far?

Here’s what we know so far: of the 19 dead in the Japan knife attack, 9 of them were women, and 10 of them were men. The victims ranged in ages from 18 to 70, although none of the names of the victims of the Japan knife attack have been released to the public as of yet. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said that the Japan knife attack was “a very heart-wrenching and shocking incident in which many innocent people became victims.” The perpetrator of the Japan knife attack was Satoshi Uematsu, a 26-year-old who, up until February of this year, worked at the assisted care facility, which took care of many developmentally and physically disabled people in Japan.

Prior to this tragic Japan knife attack, Uematsu is reported to have sent countless threats to government officials, wherein he threatened to kill the disabled people in his care and charge. So, does this news mean that the incident could have been prevented? Or, was this Japan knife attack destined to happen, regardless of any perceived threats?

According to the New York Times, it’s impossible to predict that the Japan knife attack would happen because crime is, oftentimes, so low that it’s negligible. This low crime rate, unfortunately, only adds to the shock of the initial Japan knife attack, because it’s so unexpected. For example, prior to this incident, the murder rate in Japan has decreased steadily for the past 50 years. However, on the rare occasions that crime does happen, like this Japan knife attack, it happens on a mass and tragic scale. The last time a Japan knife attack happened prior to this incident, in fact, was in 2008, when an auto parts worker in Akihabara ran over pedestrians, then got out of the rented truck and started knifing them. In the end, seven people were killed.

Word of the Japan knife attack is all over Twitter now, so much so that even gossip bloggers like Perez Hilton have taken time out of their day to send their condolences to the victims and to the country itself. In a tweet dated July 26, Hilton — best known for his gay-friendly gossip blog & friendship with hotel heiress Paris Hilton — sent a message of positivity in the wake of the Japan knife attack. “Love conquers all,” he wrote, before posting part of a press release about the Japan knife attack.

So, why is crime — like this latest Japan knife attack — so uncommon in the country? Quartz has a few theories, which are borne out by emerging facts. According to them, the Japan knife attack is a rarity because, in part, weapons aren’t readily available in Japan. While the USA seems to be quite trigger-happy — proven by the fact that the U.S. murder rate is the second-highest worldwide (Mexico’s murder rate is the highest in the world) — there was only one gun death in Japan in 2015. In addition, prior to this Japan knife attack, Japan had the second-lowest murder rate in the world (Luxembourg had the lowest), with just.03 murders per 100,000 people. In addition, Japanese culture encourages a communal mindset — while avoiding dishonor and shame — so much so that even getting angry in public is something that’s frowned upon. Finally, a variety of other factors — such as an educational system that encourages cooperation rather than competition, a near non-existent drug problem, and just a general rejection of violence as an answer — have influenced the Japanese public to be almost completely crime-free — which is what makes this Japan knife attack even more tragic.

Our thoughts are with the victims of the Japan knife attack, and their families.

[Image via AP Photo/Chiaki Tsukumo, File]

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