Bloggers respond to the Akihabara killings
How have Japan’s English language bloggers responded to the killings that took place in Akihabara yesterday? Here are a few excerpts from notable posts:
Adamu of Mutantfrog Travelogue commented on the police response (a comment I wholeheartedly agree with, if reports about the police officer’s actions are accurate):
Apparently a policeman chased this man with his baton — and actually parried with him as he ran and apparently was still stabbing people — and only drew his gun AFTER Kato had put down the knife. Three words for the Japanese cops — SHOOT TO KILL!
Marxy predicts an “Otaku Moral Panic”:
They already found some anime-style drawings from the suspect — something extremely ubiquitous among almost everyone in Japan — but the images will point the blame squarely at “pop culture.” (Will his middle-school tennis club picture lead to a crackdown on clay courts nationwide?) That being said, I don’t think this guy chose Akihabara just because it’s a “popular area,” as if Shinjuku or Ikebukuro would have sufficed. There will be some kind of link.
Patrick Macias has also written about the media focus on otaku morality:
The timing could not have been worse. The energy was already flagging in Electric Town as the area was slowly becoming a police state in the wake of crackdowns on street idols and cosplayers (the TV is now praising the already-elevated police presence in the area, saying there would have been more mayhem if not for them).
Danny Choo has posted a list of recent random stabbing attacks, expressing concern over such crimes:
The worst thing about these killings is the “just wanted to kill anybody” factor with no other particular motive and that they happen in broad daylight on innocent people going about their business.
Debito used the occasion to bring attention to a store in Akihabara that has a sign stating it will not sell knives to minors and foreigners. It wasn’t long before Debito edited the post to tell readers he had convinced them to change the sign:
I mentioned that there are many different types of NJ in Japan, and not all of their customers are simply leaving afterwards. He said that they don’t mind selling to NJ with addresses in Japan as long as they present ID. I said that that’s not what the sign out front says, and suggested he change the sign to reflect what he just told me.
Information about the reaction of some Japanese bloggers can be found at Global Voices online, where Chris Salzberg has written a very informative post.
All our updates about this story so far:
- Stabbing rampage in Akihabara [Tokyo]: 7 people killed
- Tomohiro Kato – Akihabara Killer
- Bloggers respond to the Akihabara killings
- FTV focuses on Akihabara killer’s love of anime
- ‘Wanted’ video targets Akihabara idiots
