When Cruelty Meets Arrogance: Man Sprays Unknown Woman, Cites Weakness as Motive

“I’ll spray to blind them and stab with a knife.”

A man chased a young woman in panic and sprayed her in the face.

In July of this year, a 61-year-old man was arrested at a commercial facility in Adachi Ward, Tokyo, for chasing and spraying a woman in her 30s whom he did not know. The suspect, Hideo Negishi, is from Soka City, Saitama Prefecture, and his occupation is unknown.

“Around the facility’s public seating area, Negishi targeted a woman wearing earphones and looking at her phone, suddenly spraying her in the face. Security cameras captured him persistently chasing the startled woman and spraying her repeatedly,” said a reporter from a national newspaper.

During police questioning, Negishi reportedly stated:

“I had debts and illnesses and thought it didn’t matter if I died. I thought I could survive in prison, so since February this year, I carried a spray and a knife planning to commit an incident.”

“I walked around Asakusa and Akihabara looking for people who seemed weaker than me.”

He further admitted:

“I had carefully planned the attack. I intended to spray to blind the victim and then stab them with a knife. My motive was that I had debts and thought I wouldn’t have to worry about living if I went to prison.”

Although the crime was extremely selfish, in recent years there has been an increase in random attacks committed by people claiming they “wanted to go to prison because life was difficult.”

In October 2021, a man dressed as the “Joker” attempted murder on the Keio Line, injuring 18 people. Regarding his motive, he stated that he “wanted to be sentenced to death” and was given a 23-year prison sentence (25 years requested).

In January 2022, the “University of Tokyo front stabbing incident” involved a 17-year-old male high school student attacking examinees and passersby with a knife, injuring three. The boy reportedly said, “I thought I would kill people, bear the guilt, and commit seppuku.” Despite being a minor, the Nagoya District Family Court considered the case a serious random attack threatening the lives of three people, and the circumstances of the crime were extremely severe, and decided to transfer it to an adult court. The Tokyo District Court sentenced him to an indeterminate prison term of 6 to 10 years.

On August 7, when Hideo Negishi was escorted from the Senju Police Station to be sent for prosecution, he glanced at the reporters and, perhaps blinded by camera flashes, closed his eyes. He deliberately took a longer route, walking slowly to give the media time to take photos before boarding the police transport vehicle. His behavior did not appear remorseful at all.