Bailiff Casualty Incident Following Welfare Cutoff and Unpaid Rent Suspect Cites Justifications for Violence

“I suddenly heard a loud voice, then the sound of sirens. From a distance, I saw someone calling out to a person lying on the ground, saying, ‘Are you okay? Are you okay?’ I searched ‘Suginami Ward incident’ on my phone and thought, ‘No way.’” (a man in his 60s who lives nearby)

At around 10 a.m. on January 15, a report was made to emergency services that two men had been stabbed with a bladed weapon on the street in front of an apartment building in Izumi, Suginami Ward, Tokyo. The victims were a court bailiff who had come to carry out a forced eviction procedure and an employee of a rent guarantee company. The employee was later confirmed dead at the hospital where he was taken.

The attacker was the apartment’s resident, unemployed suspect Hiroshi Yamamoto (40). Yamamoto fled the scene after the incident but was arrested several hundred meters away for attempted murder in the act.

“By July last year, he had already fallen nearly 600,000 yen behind on rent for his six-tatami-mat studio apartment, so the landlord filed a lawsuit with the court seeking eviction. In October, a ruling was issued in favor of the claim. At present, the unpaid rent had reportedly grown to nearly 1 million yen. Since that day was the eviction deadline, about 10 people—including the bailiff and witnesses—visited the apartment, and five of them went up to the room.

When Yamamoto said, ‘These are my belongings,’ and presented a box, black smoke began to rise from it. When it was discovered that cassette gas canisters were inside, everyone fled and waited in front of the apartment. Then, after an explosion was heard inside the room, Yamamoto chased after them holding a kitchen knife, and it appears the two victims were attacked,” said a national affairs desk reporter.

After stabbing the victims, Yamamoto returned briefly to his room, then fled outside again before being arrested.

“After returning to his room, Yamamoto set it on fire. During questioning, he reportedly said, ‘I intended to set it ablaze and die, but I couldn’t withstand the smoke and went outside.’ A fire broke out in the room, and 30 cassette gas canisters were found in the burned remains, one of which had exploded. As for his motive, he reportedly said, ‘Since the COVID pandemic, I haven’t had steady work. I was doing short-term gigs, but my welfare benefits were cut off, and I became desperate,’” the same reporter said.

The suspect had been living in a two-story apartment building with a monthly rent of 55,000 yen. The first floor housed shops, but they are no longer in operation. The sensational incident, which occurred in a quiet residential neighborhood, left residents deeply shaken. One person living along the apartment said, “At first, I thought it was a fire.”

“The sirens were getting closer and then stopped near my house, so that’s what I thought at first. But when I spoke to someone who had stopped their bicycle nearby, they told me ‘someone was stabbed,’ which shocked me. A little while later, I saw someone being escorted by police officers into a patrol car—was that Yamamoto, perhaps? At a glance, he looked gentle, and he was taken away quietly with his head down.”

A woman in her 60s who said she had seen Yamamoto before commented, “He seemed quiet and gave off a somewhat gloomy impression, but he didn’t look like someone who would kill another person.”

“I’d see him sometimes when taking out the trash and we’d exchange greetings. When I said hello, he would give a small bow and softly reply, ‘Good morning.’ I thought he was shy, but I never imagined he would commit something like this.”

Even on the 16th, the day after the incident, the area around the scene remained cordoned off by police with warnings that there is a risk of ignition, so passage is prohibited. The road was finally reopened after 5 p.m.

Yamamoto reportedly told investigators, “I thought I was going to lose my place to live and that everything was over.” Considering the innocent victims who lost their lives or were seriously injured through no fault of their own, his explanation is nothing short of selfish. Online, voices of criticism have emerged, asking, “He was still in his 40s and could do gig work—why didn’t he work?” However, a welfare office official expressed doubt, saying, “Just because someone is doing gig work, their welfare benefits would not be cut off immediately.”

“It is possible to receive welfare benefits while working. However, declaring one’s income is mandatory, and if income is not reported, it may be deemed fraudulent receipt and benefits may be terminated. Even then, failure to report does not automatically mean fraud and immediate termination.

“If, once discovered, the person honestly comes forward and explains, the matter may be resolved with guidance or adjustments for past payments. But if they refuse to acknowledge it or decline to explain even after being pointed out, it is more likely to be judged as fraudulent receipt, leading to suspension of benefits or demands for repayment.”

It is also possible that Yamamoto was unable to work due to poor physical or mental health. Even so, there should have been ways for him to seek help, and it certainly does not justify taking another person’s life. Why was he driven to such an extreme point? Further developments in the investigation are awaited.