It is no longer peculiar to see a person adopting a public figure’s haircut, style, or fashion preference.

Some say this is a form of celebrity worship syndrome (CWS) at the most benign level in which fans want to be or have the qualities of the figure they adore. As long as it doesn’t turn into an obsession, then everything should be fine.

Researchers at Ohio State University have revealed that while reading a story, people are prone to adopting the appearance, behaviors, and thoughts of fictional characters – a phenomenon the researchers call “experience-taking,” which may lead to temporary changes in readers’ lives.

The term “temporary” does not take away the potential danger of experience-taking.

Not a month ago in Japan, a man dressed as the Joker, DC Comics’ supervillain and the archenemy of Batman, attacked and injured at least 17 people on a Keio Line train in Tokyo.

Police arrested the 24-year-old man, later identified as Kyota Hattori, at the scene.

Kyota said he copied the Joker because the character was so comfortable with murdering people.





Twitter


10 /10 Halloween Disaster

The October 2021 Tokyo Attack happened on October 31, leading train passengers to think the incident initially was nothing but a Halloween stunt.

Witnesses said the attacker was wearing a purple jacket and green shirt, a wardrobe similar to the Joker’s in the 2008 film The Dark Knight.

Hattori was seen walking inside the train cars and spraying clear liquid before setting them on fire.

The attack happened at around 8:00 p.m. local time near Kokuryō Station in the city of Chōfu, western side of Tokyo, injuring 17 people.



9 /10 Pesticides and Knife







Hattori began his journey at Keio-Hachioji Station, heading to Shibuya, a busy hub crowded by Halloween partygoers.

At 6:40 p.m. from Shibuya, he boarded an Inokashira Line train then transferred to Keio Line bound for Chofu Station.

Hattori once again switched to a Keio Line limited express heading to Shinjuku. Almost immediately after the train left the station, Hattori took a knife and pesticide from his backpack.

When another passenger, a 72-year-old male, asked what he was doing, Hattori stabbed him in the chest using the 30cm blade and splashed the pesticide over the victim’s head.



Twitter

8 /10 Lighter Fluid

The stabbing took place in the train’s 8th car, from which Hattori walked toward the 6th while pouring lighter fluid on a seat before setting it on fire.

Another male passenger who saw the attacker brandishing a knife thought the blade had been stained with fake blood, until moments later when the train began to fill up with smoke.

A witness claimed to have heard a loud bang from the back of the train before it made an emergency stop at Kokuryō Station. At that moment, everyone was already panicking.

Reddit

7 /10 Imitating the Joker

As the passengers ran for their lives and looked for the exit, Hattori chased them and made an even bigger fire. More than 40 firefighting vehicles came to the rescue.

They managed to put out the fire about 30 minutes after the emergency stop. Hattori was arrested at the scene, and only then did the police realize he had been imitating the Joker.

His wardrobe resembled the fictional character depicted in The Dark Knight movie, but the attack on the train appeared to have been inspired by a scene in the 2019 film Joker, although not the same.

6 /10 Looking For Death Penalty

Local news outlets said that Kyota Hattori had wanted to kill someone since June. He quit his job that month and was having difficulties maintaining a good relationship with friends.

When questioned by the police, Hattori referenced an August incident on an Odakyu Electric Railway commuter train in which a man stabbed ten passengers.

It was a deliberate attack, something he had planned several months earlier. Hattori decided to commit his crimes on Halloween, improving his chances of bumping into a large crowd therefore killing or inflicting injuries to more victims.

Twitter

5 /10 Serious Wounds And Minor Injuries

In addition to the 72-year-old man being stabbed and rendered unconscious, at least 16 others were injured. According to the Tokyo Fire Department, three victims suffered from severe wounds.

The rest of the victims sustained minor injuries from smoke inhalation. Following the emergency stop, panic passengers scrambled to find a quick exit.

Some were observed as escaping the attacker through a connecting door between carriages and climbing over train windows.

Witnesses said Hattori held a plastic bottle (most likely the lighter fluid) and knife while chasing other passengers.

Bottle Top Photography / Shutterstock.com

4 /10 Admiration For The Joker

Hattori didn’t make any attempt to evade the police when they arrived at the scene following the attack, so it probably was true he wanted to be arrested and awarded the death penalty.

He also admitted to having copied the Joker in the attack, both the wardrobe and behavior. He admired the Joker because the character always seemed remorseless despite all his crimes, including murders.

As for the cabinet, Hattori purchased the purple and green suit, especially for the occasion. He needed a crowd to execute his plans, and he knew Tokyo would be crowded on Halloween.

3 /10 Arrested Without Violence

Videos of the incident, recorded by some passengers, soon made their rounds on social media.

People were stumbling to get out of the train, mainly through the windows, because the doors did not open immediately after the emergency stop.

While other passengers screamed and ran, Hattori was seen sitting alone on an intact train seat, smoking a cigarette.

In another video, he was seen being surrounded by the police. Kyota Hattori was arrested without violence. He wanted to be taken into custody, tried, and sentenced to death, to begin with.

2 /10 High-Profile Attacks

According to Shunsuke Kimura, one of the passengers who captured the horrifying moments on video, the train doors were still closed after the train stopped, and many passengers had no idea what was happening on the 8th car.

When finally they realized something had gone wrong, they decided to exit the train through the windows. In recent years there have been several high-profile attacks in Japan.

Although violent crimes are relatively rare overall, nearly every incident caused injuries in multiple victims, even deaths.

YouTube

1 /10 Previous Incidents

The incident reminded the Japanese of the sarin gas attack by the Aum Shirnikyo cult on the Tokyo subway system in 1995. The attack killed 14 people and injured thousands of others.

Sarin did not immediately kill people; instead, it turned the nervous system against the body, resulting in uncontrollable behaviors before eventually the body could not take sustain it any longer and shut down.

More recently, in late August, also on the subway, an attacker sprayed sulfuric acid to another man’s face. On October 15, two men were stabbed at JR Ueno Station.

Continue Reading
Comments

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

0 Comments

Send this to a friend