A dispute between patrons at a bar…? The “blank expression” of the Cuban suspect who stabbed a foreign patron with a knife immediately after his arrest

Crimes committed by Cubans are rare

A foreign man with short, cropped dreadlocks streaked with gray emerged from the police station building. The man stared blankly at the large number of police officers surrounding him…This was Julian Oscar Tapia Aguilera (46), a Cuban national arrested on October 12 on suspicion of attempted murder.

“According to police, the incident occurred around 5:20 a.m. on October 11.A report was received from staff at a restaurant in Naka Ward, Yokohama, stating that ‘a man who appeared to be a foreign national had been stabbed with a knife.’ Subsequently, the victim—a 32-year-old foreign national who had been stabbed in the back—was transported to a hospital. The suspect fled the scene, but on the afternoon of the following day, October 12, Tapia turned himself in at the Kanagawa Prefectural Police’s Isesaki Station and was arrested.

During questioning, he reportedly partially denied the charges, stating, ‘I stabbed the man with a knife, but I didn’t intend to kill him.’ The two had visited the establishment as customers, but it is unclear whether they knew each other. Police are currently investigating the details of the incident.” (Crime reporter for a national newspaper)

The incident took place at a dance bar in Yokohama’s entertainment district, known for attracting large numbers of foreign patrons every day. DJ events and similar gatherings are frequently held there from late at night into the early morning, and it appears there were many foreigners present that night as well. We spoke with an employee at a nearby restaurant.

“There are always a lot of foreigners coming and going at that bar.I once saw a fight break out between two foreigners right outside the bar. There’s hardly anyone walking around here during the day, but at night—whether they’re connected to the bar or not—foreigners who aren’t tourists tend to hang out along the street, creating an atmosphere that makes it a bit scary to walk by.”

In recent years, there has been an increase in incidents involving injuries and deaths resulting from disputes between foreigners, and Yokohama is no exception.

On September 27, a foreign man was stabbed in Hodogaya Ward, Yokohama, and later died.

“According to the police, shortly before 5:00 p.m. that day, a neighbor reported hearing ‘the sounds of an argument coming from inside the apartment building, involving about five people.’ When police arrived, they found a man, believed to be a foreign national, lying on the ground on the first floor, bleeding. He was transported to the hospital in cardiac arrest but was later pronounced dead.”(Reporter mentioned earlier)

The victim was later identified as a 30-year-old Vietnamese man. When police arrived, two foreign men believed to be involved were standing in front of the apartment building, but a neighbor witnessed two other foreign men walking away barefoot.

“Crimes committed by foreign nationals have been on the rise year after year. Among these, thefts and other crimes committed by Vietnamese nationals stand out by far; however, this year has also seen cases where foreign nationals from Central and South America have become involved in ‘Tokuryu’-style crimes through illegal part-time work. That said, the suspect in this attempted murder case in Naka Ward, Yokohama, is a Cuban national.According to the Ministry of Justice, as of December ’25, there were only 313 Cubans residing in Japan, so this can be considered a rather rare case,” said a crime reporter.

The number of foreign residents continues to rise year by year. We may see crimes committed by foreigners of nationalities we haven’t seen before in the future.