Back on July 11, police in Toyama Prefecture arrested a 53-year-old man in Namerikawa. He had already booked a bus to Tokyo and packed a knife, with plans to go on a killing spree. His goal? Basically a suicide-by-cop or death penalty situation because he was fed up with the rising cost of living and wanted to die while taking others with him.
Thankfully, it never got that far. Police received a tip earlier that day, and a few days later the tipster stepped forward: Shuitsu Otomo, a former close friend and coworker of Tomohiro Kato — the guy behind the 2008 Akihabara massacre who drove a truck into a crowd and stabbed people, killing seven and injuring more before being executed a few years ago.
Otomo has spent the years since then speaking openly about his connection to Kato, volunteering as a probation officer to help rehabilitate violent offenders, and trying to understand what drives people to that point. Because of his public work, desperate people sometimes reach out to him — and that’s exactly what happened here. The Toyama man contacted him on Twitter, saying he was sick of life and thinking about “going out with a bang, like Akihabara.”
Otomo handled it carefully. He started a DM conversation, invited the guy to dinner to get his mind off things, but the man kept steering back to his Tokyo plans. When Otomo asked directly if he was really going to do it, the guy gave a non-answer that set off alarm bells. Based on 15+ years of similar interactions, Otomo decided it was an emergency and called the police.
He basically may have prevented another Akihabara-style tragedy, but he’s not patting himself on the back. Otomo said he feels like he just “snitched” and denied the man his wish to die — that this might only be a temporary pause. He hopes to follow up and talk to him “as one human being to another.”
Online reactions have been all over the place: awe at Otomo’s dedication, worry that economic pressures are pushing more people toward violence, and some harsh takes saying if you want to die, do it alone and leave others out of it. Otomo’s response to the tough-love crowd? That kind of thing just isolates people more and makes everything worse. Sometimes simply reaching out and shifting their focus (like that dinner invite) can make a real difference.
It’s been 18 years since the original Akihabara incident, and Otomo (whose name literally translates in a way that sounds like “Excellent Great Friend”) is still out here doing this heavy, risky work — partly to stop repeats, and probably carrying some guilt from not being able to help his old friend back then.
Heavy stuff, but also a reminder that one person paying attention can change everything.