A 28-year-old man holed up in a yakiniku restaurant ‘told the homeless about his surprising flesh and blood’
I want my life to end. I want the death penalty.”
Over a barricade made of five chairs, the man reportedly appealed to the police officer.
While the man was talking to the policeman, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Metropolitan Police Department’s Investigation Division 1 threw about five flashbangs into the restaurant and rushed in through the back door where the kitchen was located. After rescuing the hostage manager who was sitting at the corner of the counter, they took the man into custody. It was only a few seconds after the raid.
Around 9:00 p.m. on January 8, the manager of the Yakiniku Gyusei Yoyogi restaurant in Yoyogi, Tokyo, called 110. A man had taken the manager hostage and was holed up in the restaurant. About three hours later, after midnight on the 9th, police officers rushed in and caught the man. The suspect, Akito Araki, who has no fixed address and is unemployed, was arrested on suspicion of confinement.
The suspect, who had moved to Tokyo from his parents’ home in Nagasaki Prefecture about two weeks before the incident, was apparently living homeless in Shinjuku. He told the police about his motive for the crime. He told the police his motive for the crime: “I have never had a regular job, and I couldn’t find any meaning in my life as a homeless person. I thought it would be good if I could get the death penalty for a big crime.
It seems that he entered a yakiniku restaurant in Yoyogi by accident. Araki also stated. I was on my way to Shinjuku Station when I saw a signboard for a yakiniku restaurant. I thought I’d have some yakiniku before I got caught.
Wine while holding a beef knife
The suspect entered the restaurant alone at around 6:30 p.m. After eating and drinking about 6,000 yen worth of food and drinks in about two hours, he handed a napkin to the waitress with the following written on it: “I activated the bomb.
I’ve activated the bomb. Call the police.”
After receiving the report from the clerk, the manager immediately called 110. There were about 20 shoppers and employees in the store, but everyone except the manager, who was taken hostage, evacuated.
The suspect, who had barricaded himself inside the store, was drinking wine with a 30cm long beef knife, which was in the store, but he did not seem to be acting violently. He told the manager that he didn’t mean to harm him and also said, “I’m not going to harm you. He also told the manager that he did not intend to harm her, and that he wanted to make it like the recent incident on the train. In August last year, ten people were stabbed and injured on the Odakyu Line. He also seemed to have in mind the fire that broke out on the Keio Line in October, seriously injuring 18 people.
Three boxes wrapped with adhesive tape and other materials were found inside the store, and Araki said, “I made a fake bomb. Araki had no money in his possession.
Araki was tired of living on the streets and was believed to be desperate. However, in the course of the investigation, some unexpected voices have been revealed about his future.
To a homeless person who knew Araki, he was said to have said cheerfully, “I finally got a job. I finally got a job. I’m going to work soon. He gave the impression of being a serious and quiet person,” said another reporter from a national newspaper.
The suspect, Araki, was said to have had a positive attitude at one point. The police are investigating the details of what led up to the crime.
Photo by: Shinji Hasuo