Japanese Rapist Attacks/ Rapes woman on train. Whole Train watches and does Nothing

Train rapist took advantage of passengers' apathy, fear in night of terror



Raping a woman in a public place such as train is brutal enough. But even more appalling is the fact that there were roughly 40 passengers on board at the time of the crime, but no one stepped up to stop the man from sexually assaulting a woman. They all looked the other way. In the end, the man got away from the crime scene easily. That was last August.
The case only came to light last month when the suspect, Takamitsu Uezono, a 36-year-old demolition worker from Shiga Prefecture, was arrested for a similar assault on another train.


But what happened last August? The rape took place on Aug 3 on the Thunderbird 50 express train bound for Osaka from Toyama on JR Hokuriku Line. It departs Toyama station at 7:51 p.m. and arrives to Osaka at 11:12 p.m. The majority of passengers are salarymen and OLs.

That night, Uezono got on the train at 9:20 p.m. at Fukui station. According to witnesses, he sat in the second row of the sixth car of a nine-car-long train. There are 60 seats in one car; 15 rows of two seats on each side of the aisle. At the time there were about 40 passengers in the car.

The nightmare started right after the train departed Fukui station. Some passengers saw him wandering around the car, looking for women, so there is no doubt, say police, that he boarded the train with the intention to rape. The victim was Ms A, who was 21 at the time. She was on her way back to Osaka where she lived, after visiting her parents in Toyama.
The victim told police that Uezono started touching her breasts soon after he sat down beside her. He then proceeded to insert his hand into her underwear.

When she tried to resist, she was threatened by Uezono. “If you try and move, I will kill you or I might just stalk you for the rest of your life,” he reportedly told her. Ms A told police she was petrified with fear.
Some passengers probably heard her crying. There has been a lot of criticism that no one noticed what was happening between the two. "Apparently, some passengers did notice what was going on, but they decided to look the other way when Uezono yelled at them: 'What the hell are you looking at!’” police said.

The train seats have a high backrest, making it unlikley that anyone sitting behind Uezono and Ms A would have seen anything. Others were probably sleeping or listening to music with earphones on. So it was left up to those seated closest to Uezono to do something, but police said they were all cowered by Uezono.

There was a chance to report the incident to the station staff when the train arrived at Tsuruga Station at 9:51 p.m., but no passenger did so. Only the crying of Ms A could be heard when the train stopped. And the assault continued once the train started moving again.

When the train was about to arrive at Kyoto station around 10:30 p.m., Uezono made Ms A stand up and dragged her to a bathroom that was located between the fifth and sixth cars. Once again, no one stepped up to stop Uezono. “He raped her inside the bathroom,” police said. When the train departed Kyoto at 10:46 p.m., Uezono dragged her into a lavatory located next to the bathroom and raped her there once again. The rape continued until the train arrived at Shin Osaka station at 11:08 p.m.
Uezono got off at the station, and so did Ms A. She immediately reported what happened to police, who could do very little. The suspect had gone and none of the other passengers came forward, so there were no witness reports.

The train has an emergency button at each end of the cars as well as in the bathroom. Once the button is pushed, the train will make an emergency stop. Also, the conductor has a phone. But no one pushed the emergency button and neither of the two conductors onboard noticed anything. In fact, "one conductor said he had seen Uezono and Ms A talking and he said that they seemed cheerful," said the police.

Adding to the mystery is the fact that Uezono did not have a ticket when a conductor approached him. "He told the conductor that his wife would pay for the ticket once they arrived in Shin Osaka," said a JR spokesman. JR would not confirm whether the conductor had also been threatened.


Uezono struck again on Dec 21

Nothing more was heard of Uezono until Dec 21, when he allegedly raped another woman on the Kosei line around 10:30 p.m. He got on the train at Ogoto station and approached Ms B, 27, who was sitting alone at one end of the car. “You are wearing nice clothes,” he reportedly told her before the assault. He then got on a train heading back to Ogoto station. He assaulted Ms C, 20, who he spotted at the train station. “He forced her into the men’s toilet and threatened her that if she screamed, he would kill her. Then he raped her,” police said.

Uezono was finally caught on Jan 7 after another assault. Upon comparing DNA in Uezono's semen with samples collected in the case of Ms B and C, police found a match and charged him with rape on Jan 17. He was also charged with the rape of Ms A on April 21.

“Uezono has admitted to raping Ms B and C in court. As for Ms A, he admitted to the charges. But there were no apologies to be heard in court," said a police spokesman.

“I was drunk that day and got into an argument with my wife,” Uezono said of his actions on the day he raped Ms B and C. "I wanted another drink, so I went outside and spotted Ms B going to Ogoto station. She was my type, so I followed her to the train and raped her. And I raped Ms C afterwards.”

This was not the first arrest for Uezono. He was first arrested, when he was 28 years old in 1999, for attacking a 20-year-old woman on a bicycle and raping her. In 2003, he was arrested for kicking a 22-year-old woman in the back at a train station. He has repeatedly assaulted women on trains or buses. He had just got out of prison last July.

According to people who know Uezono, he is a sharp-eyed man, 160 cm tall and skinny. His abnormal sexual habit is not something that was born overnight. “He used to follow girls he liked when he was young. And he assaulted them, if the girls were quiet,” said a former classmate. “Girls just hated him.”

But surprisingly, he has a wife, 18 years old and six months pregnant. When Shukan Post contacted her, she said that her husband is very kind and that he is very considerate of her health now that she is pregnant.
His wife repeatedly said Uezono is kind, but a former neighbor of the two says otherwise. “I used to hear a woman scream ‘Stop’ or ‘Help’ every night,” the neighbor said. “There were some nights that sounded as if he was raping her, and I even thought about calling the police.”

Is Uezono controlling his wife through fear and violence? The neighbor did not report him to police because she was afraid. He used to plant fear by hinting that he is a mobster. He controlled his surroundings with terror and thus inevitable tragedy followed in the cases of rape.

While the victims will be traumatized for the rest of their lives, Uezono will most likely only get 10 years in prison, says one lawyer.
“Someone could have dialed 110, or pushed the emergency button,” said Sachiko Saeki, a safety adviser. “There were numerous things that could have been done to prevent the rape. The passengers on board the train that night have a lot to answer for.” (Translated by Toshiya Fujii)

May 2, 2007

Re: Japanese Rapist Attacks/ Rapes woman on train. Whole Train watches and does Nothi

Considering how one in every two women had gotten groped on the subways and how sexist that country is, I'm almost not surprised to hear this. That, and the fact that Japanese in general go well out of their way to be polite.

Re: Japanese Rapist Attacks/ Rapes woman on train. Whole Train watches and does Nothi

Indeed, the culture has much to do with it. Once on a Korean subway my buds were riding:A middle aged woman grabbed her chest and fell to the floor. No Koreans did shit, so my buds came over to make sure she was okay, help her get seated, etc. They were pissed off and let the other riders know. Turns out that nobody specifically knew her, so until you are formally intoduced you don't interfere in a stranger's business.

Re: Japanese Rapist Attacks/ Rapes woman on train. Whole Train watches and does Nothi

It is part of the culture. They literally think themselves into tiny little spaces on the train that don't include the rest of the train riders. Think zen train rides. They can't find privacy anywhere any other way BUT to think themselves into a private space that doesn't include the rest of the world.
Sadly that means even to seeing and stopping a crime.
Or helping a heart attack/stroke victim.

Re: Japanese Rapist Attacks/ Rapes woman on train. Whole Train watches and does Nothi

If Mewa won't let a lady sit down, what makes you think he's gonna help some girl he doesn't know?

Re: Japanese Rapist Attacks/ Rapes woman on train. Whole Train watches and does Nothi

Seen reports where girls are raped over there on packed trains all the time.

Re: Japanese Rapist Attacks/ Rapes woman on train. Whole Train watches and does Nothi

They were exceptionally polite at Iwo Jima.

Re: Japanese Rapist Attacks/ Rapes woman on train. Whole Train watches and does Nothi

Many of them were even more polite after Dad got through with them.

Re: Japanese Rapist Attacks/ Rapes woman on train. Whole Train watches and does Nothi

Un-fucking believable!

Re: Japanese Rapist Attacks/ Rapes woman on train. Whole Train watches and does Nothi


Cultural differences my hairy white ASS. That was cowardice, plain and simple. How could you live with yourself after witnessing that and doing nothing? How does a man like that get caught so many times and remain free?!? That society failed those women at the individual and collective level. Inexcusable.

Re: Japanese Rapist Attacks/ Rapes woman on train. Whole Train watches and does Nothi

Maybe someone can find the youtube video, but I just saw footage of an old man having his car stolen. Guy walks up as the old man is parking his car, and starts punching him, the old man won't let go of the car door, so the punk just punches him harder. The thing is, there are half a dozen people two parking spots away, just watching.

The city? Chicago.

Sound familiar?

Re: Japanese Rapist Attacks/ Rapes woman on train. Whole Train watches and does Nothi

I realize it's probably foolish to just go jumping in front of some crazy fucker who just might be able to kill me, but having to look in the mirror for the rest of my life after doing nothing at all to stop it wouldn't be tolerable, either. It's a shitty choice to deal with, and it's this asshole rapist/car thief who's forced it on you. FUCK HIM UP!

Re: Japanese Rapist Attacks/ Rapes woman on train. Whole Train watches and does Nothi

No good deed goes unpunished.

Re: Japanese Rapist Attacks/ Rapes woman on train. Whole Train watches and does Nothi

Yep. Sometimes there are simply risks to life and limb that you have to assume when circumstances dictate, if you want to go on calling yourself a man. Life's a bitch and then you die.

Re: Japanese Rapist Attacks/ Rapes woman on train. Whole Train watches and does Nothi

Different cultures...I only know what I would have done...that SOB would be singing soprano.

I used to ride the public transit, here...I was downtown, one morning, waiting for a bus and minding my own business when I noticed this obviously drunk/high black guy pestering these two black chicks...coming on to them like he thought he was a player, etc.

These two ladies were not amused and this guy was getting unreal...I didn't intervene as it wasn't physical and I was minding my own business...one departed across the street...turns out it was to call the cops...(cell phones were still pricey) and left the other one to deal with this idiot. Now I'm not small, I'm somewhat scarred up and look mean, which I can be if pestered. The one came over to sit next to me...and when the other returned, the first one motioned her over to sit on my other side.

Swell.

It turned off Mr. Wonderful, then the cops showed up and hauled him off for public intoxication.

FYI...those two black chicks never said anything to me, but they weren't half bad.

Re: Japanese Rapist Attacks/ Rapes woman on train. Whole Train watches and does Nothi

That is so sad that something could happen like that in a public place. How can any women there feel even remotely safe? I would always wonder is this my night to get raped?

Re: Japanese Rapist Attacks/ Rapes woman on train. Whole Train watches and does Nothi

Because dear UA THEY DIDN'T REALLY SEE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It was as though they were blind deaf and mute and it is due to the way they were raised to view the world.

And you have to remember, there women were chattel for a hell of a lot longer than they were in this country. And chivalry did NOT exist in that country the way it did in Europe.

Just because YOU think they should have seen it doesn't mean that they did. Just because YOU think their culture sucks eggs doesn't mean they will suddenly change to please you. In fact, they probably wish that you were more like them. It's more civilized. In their opinion, of course.

Re: Japanese Rapist Attacks/ Rapes woman on train. Whole Train watches and does Nothi

Some things are just universally true. Sitting with your thumb up your ass while a woman is raped right next to you is unconscionable fucking cowardice in every goddamn language. I don't care how anyone would try to excuse it within the context of their culture.

Re: Japanese Rapist Attacks/ Rapes woman on train. Whole Train watches and does Nothi

Re: Japanese Rapist Attacks/ Rapes woman on train. Whole Train watches and does Nothi

Not in a society where women are not counted as part of the culture it's not.
Do you care if a bitch is serviced by a neighbor's dog - or a stray?
That is how they used to think and some still think.
Come to think of it, some Americans think that way as well.
Sorry UA, you can't tell the world how to think, even if you think you should be able to. Remember, there are many who are trying to convince you the errors of your ways in thought.

Re: Japanese Rapist Attacks/ Rapes woman on train. Whole Train watches and does Nothi

You can take "moral relativism" and blow it out your ass. I ain't buying.

And I may be flawed, but I don't harbor anything so deeply evil as total indifference to a rape happening right in front of my fucking face, so you can blow that comparison right out your ass, too.

Re: Japanese Rapist Attacks/ Rapes woman on train. Whole Train watches and does Nothi

People look the other way ALL THE TIME in the US. Maybe not for rape, but for various other crimes. While this particular occurence (train groping/rapes) might be more prevalent in Japan, people ignoring crime is not uncommon anywhere.

This is no worse than what evenflow linked a few posts back. People not sucking it up and standing up for what is right. Too worried about their own asses, to help another in need. Pretty disgusting, IMO.

Re: Japanese Rapist Attacks/ Rapes woman on train. Whole Train watches and does Nothi

Actually it has happened in the United States. Even in Spider-Man 2 Peter turned his back on a mugging.

Re: Japanese Rapist Attacks/ Rapes woman on train. Whole Train watches and does Nothi

I probably wouldn't have attacked him with my bare hands, but I would've reached for the first starbucks coffee floating in someone else hands and threw it at him. Back in the days it would've been a trash can top or the whole trash can. I'd find something. An oldster's walker. And my cell phone is always handy...........to call 911 and take pictures. Like the person who took the video.

Re: Japanese Rapist Attacks/ Rapes woman on train. Whole Train watches and does Nothi

Yes- never throw your Starbucks on the bastard if you can grab one from someone else. "Borrow a sword to kill another"- straight from the Japanese Art of War.

Saw it on Fox news, farmer, not the internet. I don't know if it'd be floating around Youtube by now or not...

Re: Japanese Rapist Attacks/ Rapes woman on train. Whole Train watches and does Nothi

The people on the train won't see this rape, but if a foreigner (American especially) grabbed a Japanese woman's ass the whole train would testify.
Oh yeah, seen that shit in Korea.

As for Americans ignoring crime, there's a big difference between your Uncle's poker game and raping a woman on a train.

Re: Japanese Rapist Attacks/ Rapes woman on train. Whole Train watches and does Nothi

Yes, the world is positively running over with improvised weapons.

Personally, if I was some 100lb chick in Japan who had to take the train every day, I'd take to strapping a tanto to my thigh every morning.

Re: Japanese Rapist Attacks/ Rapes woman on train. Whole Train watches and does Nothi

"It's none of your business."

"Don't get involved."

"You might get hurt."

"Let the cops handle it."


What is it about modern society that is turning all of us into pussies? This is by no means unique to Japan; it could (and probably has) happened here many, many times.

Re: Japanese Rapist Attacks/ Rapes woman on train. Whole Train watches and does Nothi

Actually, the last time I played poker it kinda felt like getting raped on a train. I'm a lousey card player.

Re: Japanese Rapist Attacks/ Rapes woman on train. Whole Train watches and does Nothi

Only because I don't drink Starbucks. I drink Bustelo. Spanish Expresso. Makes the hair grow back on your head.