Chinese Suspect Smiles During DisneySea Incident Raises Questions About Labor Challenges

The suspect waved cheerfully at the press

On December 4, a young man with short hair appeared, escorted by police officers from the Urayasu Police Station in Chiba Prefecture. At first, he looked nervous, but as he descended the stairs, he glanced up at the cameras, smiled, and cheerfully waved his hand. Even just before boarding the bus, he continued to wave both hands over the shoulders of the two officers restraining him. Why was he smiling──?

In Urayasu, Chiba Prefecture, at the Tokyo DisneySea Hotel MiraCosta, Chunyu Jiang (34), a self-employed Chinese national, was arrested on suspicion of violating the Act on Punishment of Acts of Violence, etc. (threatening behavior) for bringing a knife into a company gathering and threatening attendees.

According to Chiba Prefectural Police, around 8 p.m. on December 1, Jiang allegedly threatened a 31-year-old company employee at the hotel’s banquet hall.

“At the banquet, a company gathering was taking place. Jiang suddenly appeared, distributing papers written in Chinese to each table. When one of the attendees tried to stop him, Jiang pulled out a Chinese-style kitchen knife about 20 cm long from his backpack and threatened in Chinese, ‘If you come any closer, I’ll kill you.’ Jiang had previously worked for this company and had left due to some trouble,” said a national newspaper reporter covering social affairs.

After the incident, Jiang left the hotel and apparently attempted to flee by train from JR Maihama Station. Chiba Prefectural Police tracked him via security camera footage and secured him on the street in front of his home in Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture, on the following day, December 2.

During questioning, Jiang explained, “I pulled out the knife because I was stopped while distributing a protest letter to the company,” and partially denied the charges, claiming, “I did not intend to threaten anyone with the knife.”

The foundation of how to work isn’t being taught

It remains unclear what kind of trouble occurred between Jiang and the company. Speaking of workplace disputes, on December 5 in Isumi City, Chiba Prefecture, a Chinese national, Ke Liu (39), stabbed a female colleague (58) multiple times in the face and other areas with a knife.

“Liu was reported at the scene and arrested on suspicion of attempted murder. After the woman’s death was confirmed, the charge was upgraded to murder. He reportedly admitted to the allegation, saying, ‘I definitely stabbed her with a knife I brought from home.’ At the time of the incident, the two were in a meeting in a company room, and the police are investigating the possibility of some kind of dispute between them,” said the same source.

Crime journalist Taihei Ogawa explains the reasons behind workplace disputes among foreign workers as follows:

“It’s not about being foreign—Japanese people have workplace disputes too. However, in Japan, employers and supervisors hold strong positions, and people are accustomed to accepting some unreasonable demands as part of the job. Of course, power harassment and sexual harassment are unacceptable, but there is generally an awareness of avoiding conflicts at work.

Foreign workers who grew up overseas are not used to this culture. They have a strong sense of their rights, and when they have complaints or dissatisfaction, they speak up directly. This mindset can lead to clashes in Japanese workplaces, where the norm is to avoid conflict and tolerate minor difficulties.

In the case of the Technical Intern Training Program, Japanese language education is provided before traveling, but implicit workplace rules and the basic foundation of how to work in Japan are not sufficiently taught. As a result, complaints like the work is tough or I was scolded surface, sometimes escalating into disputes.”

This recent incident may have been an outburst of such frustrations. However, engaging in behavior with a knife in a public place frequented by families goes far beyond a simple ‘workplace dispute’ and could have led to far greater tragedy.

As the number of foreign workers increases in the future, conflicts may arise not only between Japanese and foreign workers but also among foreigners themselves. How to engage with them is a question that needs to be reconsidered.

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