A young girl is knocked over at Tokyo crossing – what’s behind Japan’s ‘bumping’ trend? | Japan
IIt starts as a heartwarming clip. A young girl, clearly happy to be in Tokyo, beams as she flashes a peace sign at the camera. Seconds later, he is pushed to the ground from behind by a woman wearing a surgical mask. The attacker does not step out of the frame of the video taken by the girl’s mother.
This was not a chance collision of shoulders in a crowded place; Rather, it was one of the most visible examples of what happens in a crowded place.utsukari otoko – “the man who crashed” – push events In Japan, experts attribute this to a combination of gender dynamics and the stresses of modern life.
A video of the incident, shot in the middle of the popular “mixed” parade in Tokyo’s Shibuya district on February 25, has reached more than 1 million views on Instagram. Many commenters condemned the woman’s actions, while some wondered whether it was wise to take a photo in the middle of a busy intersection.
The crash phenomenon entered the Japanese public consciousness in 2018. video It was revealed that a man deliberately walked into several women at Shinjuku station, the busiest train station in the world.
Last May, a 59-year-old associate professor in Fukuoka was arrested on suspicion of assaulting multiple passersby by hitting them with her bag.
The man faces up to two years in prison or a maximum fine of ¥300,000 ($1,895). Attacks that result in injury carry harsher penalties.
Other incidents were reported around Tokyo’s Tamachi station, including a woman who was hit so hard that she suffered broken ribs. Passengers now have to stay in barrier-separated lanes when approaching and leaving the station.
It’s not just men who carry out coups, although anecdotally they’re more likely to be the perpetrators. Social media posts show people of both genders deliberately moving through crowded public spaces, ready to launch a shoulder barge at unsuspecting victims.
In one widely shared clip, a woman is seen hitting a passerby with her purse, then stopping to pick something up before turning back to berate her victim.
The relative newness of the crime means that official statistics are not kept. In most cases, alleged attackers take advantage of their surroundings to blend in with the crowd. Some victims do not even realize they are being deliberately targeted.
2024 questionnaire Of the 21,000 men and women, 14% reported being victims of butsukari, 6% reported witnessing an attack, and 5% experienced both.
Experts attribute this situation partly to changes in gender policies.
Kiryu Masayuki, a sociology professor at Toyo University who specializes in criminal psychology, told toyokeizai.net last year that the crash was “a reflection of modern society.” “Old-fashioned ideas, such as the belief that men are superior to women, are still deeply entrenched. But in today’s world, where the job market is tough and people are uncertain about the future, traditional ideas of masculinity have been lost.”
He said encountering women is a low-risk way to vent their frustrations. “They are confident that they will not be caught by the police.”
Japan’s tourism boom has added another layer to the problem; Hoping to capture the perfect Instagram moment, hordes of visitors flock to crowded places in Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka to pause and film.
Chinese embassy in Tokyo following messy crossing incident involving Taiwanese girl warned Citizens need to maintain a safe distance from others in crowded places and not use their smartphones while walking.
However, there was nothing to indicate that the attacker knew the girl’s nationality. He is seen elbowing a man and rubbing his elbow against another boy, just before pushing the girl to the ground.
The boy’s mother said he accidentally filmed a “horrible scene”. “It also made me realize that these types of situations happen quite often in Japan,” he told the Guardian. She said she was criticized and insulted online for taking photos of her daughter, who was not injured, at a crosswalk.
“I accept that I may have been careless about the flow of people. But I was not ignoring traffic rules,” he said, adding that he was following the Chinese language. recommendation Go Tokyo, a website operated by the Tokyo Convention and Visitors Bureau, includes an app that tells visitors they can “stop at the intersection and take photos.”
