Tokyo stabbing spree

I missed the stabbing spree by an hour and a half.

Akihabara, a district of Tokyo known for cheap electronics, anime, comics, and maid cafes, was busy but calm when I changed trains at its main station at 11 a.m. Sunday.

As I moved from the subway to the above-ground line, I thought for a moment about exploring the district before heading to Shinjuku to catch my bus back to Nagoya. I decided against it.

Had I stayed, I might have seen the commotion when a 25-year-old crashed a rented truck into a crowd and then went on a stabbing spree, randomly killing seven and wounding several more.

Japan remains a relatively safe country, but crazy people are out there. Every once in a while such a random attack seems to occur. Usually it's the same kind of story. The killer is captured by police and is quoted as saying that he just wanted to kill people. Maybe he was fed up with his own life or wanted to die at the hands of the police.

I don't really have any deep insights on the issue. I'll let the media speculate as to what cultural factors may have played a role. I just wanted to post on it because I was sorta-kinda near where it happened.