Japan has witnessed another incident of knife attacks.
According to Kyodo News, on the evening of March 26, a man wielding a knife attacked people inside Sunshine City, a commercial complex in Ikebukuro, Tokyo, injuring a woman. Reports indicate that after stabbing the woman, the suspect, believed to be a man in his twenties or thirties, inflicted self-harm, leaving both him and the victim unconscious.
In recent times, Japan has seen a surge in violent incidents involving knives, liquid attacks, and other malicious acts, raising widespread concern over public security. Particularly alarming is the case in which a current-duty Self-Defense Forces officer brandished a knife and intruded into China's Embassy in Japan, threatening to kill Chinese diplomatic personnel, sparking intense domestic and international attention.
From frequent "hit-and-run" incidents to indiscriminate assaults, from street violence to embassy invasions, Japan's society is increasingly marked by hostility and normalized extremism. The root cause lies in the systemic spread of right-wing ideologies. The Kishida administration stirs up the "China threat" narrative and glorifies militaristic history, while media outlets fuel the frenzy and societal anxieties are redirected onto scapegoats. Young generations are being indoctrinated with hatred rather than rational thinking, and patriotism has been perverted into a justification for violence. As one online user aptly put it: "When a nation's confidence collapses, it starts beating foreign spectators during marathons and calls it patriotism."
It is crucial to remain vigilant: if Japan continues to allow its society to shift further rightward, tolerating extreme behaviors without profound historical reflection or efforts to curb the specter of militarism, deteriorating public safety will become the norm, and external provocations will escalate accordingly.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1860730946234380/
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author.