Hi all,
Recently I observe that aggressiveness in streets of Tokyo is on increase. This relates to Tozai line, Otemachi area, Nihonbashi area.
During the last year I saw Japanese people fighting more than during previous 10 years of living in Japan for pretty lame reasons, like shoulder each other in train, pushing each other which leads to fight. And not just shouting “Kuse Omae”, but really fighting with fists.
Just curious of this is purely subjective matter and me just being “unlucky” observing all these conflicts during the year, or if anyone feels the same?
Also, curious to know what could be possible reasons of Japanese people, usually calm, start getting mad?
35 comments
I see people as their usual polite self.
Tokyo is still seems to be the safest major city I’ve ever seen.
Shit jobs have replaced good ones and they just emerged from a pandemic after stewing on their rage.
Maybe stress because of inflation
Osaka here, not an increase but i am truly fed up with these arrogant pricks bumping in to people on purpose just to start a fight.
On purpose walking up the stairs against the flow of the crowd and just bumping into people. They just wanna ruin other people’s day.
I haven’t noticed it but I wouldn’t be surprised, as people are getting back to offices and public transport and coming into contact with more people and density of people than they have in years.
Yeah, I mean someone just pushed a few people while walking through the Odakyu line the other day. It’s absolutely insane no one hit the emergency stop button.
As soon as I can’t start affording food, I’ll get aggressive too. Some people are entering that
Funny you saying that. Today walking near Otemachi I saw someone shout and give the finger to some helicopters flying over before entering a shop. Gave me a chuckle. The most aggressive thing I’ve seen in a while at least anyway.
Every year during hanami season I look forward to watching fights break out.
Too many people in a small space.
Expect it to get worse as the economy goes to shit.
I noticed this in Tokyo. People look more fearful of foreigners probably because of the big influx.I absolutely hate going to Tokyo except certain places. Over crowded , rude people etc. Way overhyped. People are ruder to foreigners in Tokyo or at least in my experience. I have ADHD and anxiety and Tokyo is just too much visual stimulation for me. Whenever I have to go to Tokyo I always end up rushing to get home to my small suburb in rural Tochigi.
Try working in a Japanese company. You’d be constantly trying to suppress stress and frustration while being pressured to into being a positive/proactive puppy in front of a boss and okyakusama . Otherwise you’d be deemed as someone who isn’t trying too hard and pawahara’d into oblivion. Anybody would snap at some point. That’s why so many go to karaoke, izakayas, soaplands, etc. Some just snap sooner than they get to their stress relief mechanism.
I don’t do violence but if I could I’d inazuma kick my boss out of the milky way.
Lack of sex will do that to you.
Inflation eroding your spending power, forced back to the office after Covid, people who don’t share your masking stance, tourists back and flaunting their roided up currency…it’s enough to make a man (or woman) rage.
Not everyone has access to outstanding mental health practitioners like the esteemed Dr. Bergé, and so some people unfortunately flip their lid.
There’s a pretty widespread belief in ‘spring madness’ here, which obviously has a tendency to become self-fulfilling, regardless of whether there’s any objective basis (spoilers: there isn’t.)
Yes, I think so too. But then, this was a tendency for a few years already. There were times when I couldn’t ride a train home without miserable salaryman cussing at me. I think that Abe with his “Japan first” bullshit implanted some kind of public resentment. Japan is in decline, everybody sees that and foreigners are the easiest target to blame. That said, there’s just a general increase in gloominess and agression around.
The number of 暴行(assults) and 傷害(assult incidents result in injuries) two crimes that associated with fighting increased 5.3%/7.5% in 2022. I think it has more to do with people just going outside more nowadays though.
General long term trend is still violent crime is decreasing for decades.
I have noticed more oddly-behaved elderly men where I live in recent years. I mean things like tottering about the streets shouting and gesticulating angrily to no one. Other weird (for Japan) behavior like littering, just throwing their trash on the ground, or flinging a glass bottle against a wall to smash it, all in broad daylight with people around. Recently I was standing in line at a little kiosk in a station and this old dude comes up behind me specifically and claps his hands, really loudly and violently, right by my ear then ran away. Bizarre stuff. But maybe with an aging population it’s inevitable.
I live in Osaka but this is my third time in Japan… And yeah I’ve been shoulder-checked a few times now… on purpose, by guys. The first time was actually a really hard hit, in Shinsekai. The second, third and fourth time were in a shotengai in Namba, one after the other. It’s really strange. I don’t really know why
Lived in Kobe and worked in Osaka for most of my time here. 2015~2021: 3 fist fights witnessed in total. Plenty of non-physical arguments though.
2022~2023: 7~8 proper fights, one leaving a guy unconscious. Nobody else did anything (typical) so I checked his pulse, put him into the recovery position and got a station guard. Madness.
Still, I get what you mean. I think 2 years of lockdown were the last straw for a lot of people’s mental health. That and the general financial gloominess after years of the failed Abenomics ideology.
“Why should I bother to be a good citizen when I am barely scraping by and every year; things get worse” is not an entirely unreasonable thought process. Until a good portion of the LDP leadership ***finally*** shuffle off this mortal coil, I can’t help but feel it is only going to get worse.
Happened to me near my house. And dude purposely did it so I turned around asked him
“やるか お前“. And just pushed him but didn’t push him real hard …And I guess he didn’t expect it and was surprised.
Nothing came of it because whoever he was with held him but it was weird.
Noticed this in Tokyo with people bumping into you while looking at their smart phones. Twice someone bumped into me this year while on the stairs. I thought it was a Tokyo thing and was glad when I moved to Osaka. However, I noticed it here as well but on the streets. Stupidity is on the rise regardless of where I suppose?
Honestly, this feels like an international thing. I’ve had the same feeling since coming back to the USA this year. I think the high cost of goods, pandemic fatigue and the general tense vibe in the region is all contributing to people having shorter fuses
Might be subjective because I’ve always seen this bumping type aggression. In my first year here I commuted on the Odakyu line and guys would straight up elbow you and I would also see women getting bashed, usually as revenge for taking up too much space by the door. Since I arrived too ive had the occasional shoulder barge for no reason. Japanese women I have spoken will usually say it’s hazardous commuting on the busy routes, and many have a nasty story or two.
As long as I’ve known Tokyo there’s always been grumpy dickhead and weirdoes, especially on public transport. It’s a very big city and it’s cramped.
Might be because we are just now coming out of three year social distancing that it seems worse. I have to admit it’s a.bit trippy going to somewhere VERY busy.
I recently saw a fist fight between two young drunk guys (well, one of the two guys was definitely looking for a fight) at Ebisu Yokocho. That was the very first time I saw a real fist fight in Japan in more than 7 years here.
Saw a behavioral documentary a few years ago that had impressive observational data showing that Japanese in general will actually unconsciously veer slightly to brush past strangers rather than walk a straight clear path. It didn’t purport to indicate malice, rather a quirky societal propensity.
I’ve never observed it myself…
Anyway, I imagine the virus conditions could be eating away at mental stability, and the irritation is triggering aggression.
Poverty breeds crime. Stress breeds resentment. People are fed up, and the only drugs available are prescription meds and alcohol, and some people mix them to turn up
After spending 20 mins sardined on the Yamanote line this morning with elbows in my kidneys I can almost understand people raging, almost.
There are some people who have to endure that a lot longer than 20 minutes too…
Record levels of kafun this year due to last years warm summer. Everyone’s tired of feeling like shit for the last 6 weeks .
Twitter has become more popular, other stupid pro-fighting social media has become more popular. I expect it to only get worse.
Agree with your observation and have also noticed an increase in micro-aggressions from people in public. Feels like people are increasingly impatient, inconsiderate, short-fused, and quick to blow minor inconveniences out of proportion. Not sure what to make of it.
Pent up Corona frustration being released? People readjusting poorly to real life social interactions post Corona?
There are the inexcusable dicks who just want to watch the world burn but I’ve noticed this across the board, 老若男女.
“Please, be kind. Especially when we don’t know what’s going on.”
*gestures wildly at everything* is my guess.
I’ve been seeing it here for the past decade.
Anecdotal, but I saw a fight inside a crowded train for the first time last month because two guys were sitting too closely together.
I grew up there in the 90s and they were aggressive then too. Mostly old men and some younger dudes.