Attacker On Tokyo Train Really Idols Joker, Regrets Failed To Kill People

Photo Illustration by Kentaro Toma on Unsplash

JAKARTA - Kyota Hattori, 24, who was arrested in a knife and arson attack that injured 17 people on a train in Tokyo on Halloween night told police that he likes Batman's villain, Joker.

To the police, Kyota Hattori frankly admitted that he wanted to kill people and was given the death penalty. In fact, this intention has existed since around June, as quoted from Japan Today, Monday 1 November.

Photos and videos posted on social media by eyewitnesses show a man at the scene wearing a green shirt and purple suit in a Joker costume.

About two hours before the incident, Hattori visited Tokyo's Shibuya district, where many costumed partygoers celebrate Halloween, police said.

Hattori told police he chose the limited express train to the city center which rarely stops because it is usually packed with passengers. He expressed regret for failing to kill anyone in the attack, police said.

Of the 17 people injured, a man in his 70s is in critical condition after being allegedly stabbed by Hattori in the chest as the Keio Line train moved around 8pm. The suspect is also suspected of starting a fire on the train using a lighter fluid.

Another 16 victims, aged between their teens and 60s, suffered minor injuries including smoke inhalation.

The incident occurred on a 10-car train bound for Shinjuku, a busy station in central Tokyo, from Hachioji west of the capital, causing panic among passengers who rushed to escape through the train windows.

The train made an emergency stop at Kokuryo Station in Chofu, western Tokyo, but the doors did not open immediately.

Its operator Keio Corp said the train did not stop in the right position and staff decided not to open the door to prevent passengers from falling through the gap between the train and the platform. The driver had no idea what was happening on the train at the time, the company said.

Police found a knife, several plastic bottles possibly containing lighter fluid and an aerosol can inside the train carriage.

The Ministry of Transportation has asked all railway companies in Japan to increase vigilance to ensure safety.

A number of attacks on trains and stations in the Tokyo area have occurred recently. A man stabbed and cut 10 passengers in August on the Odakyu Electric Railway commuter train in the capital's Setagaya Ward.

On October 15, two men were stabbed by a man at JR Ueno Station. In a separate incident, two people were injured at a Tokyo subway station in late August after a man sprayed sulfuric acid in another man's face.

On Monday morning, commuters at Kokuryo Station expressed concern following the incident.

"I was afraid that I could get caught up in such an incident at any moment," said a 58-year-old man.

A 25-year-old woman on her way to work said, "I'm afraid to take the train. I usually listen to music with earphones when I travel, but I didn't do that today."