On July 22, at around 3am in the morning, a mysterious message appeared on Japanese bulletin board 2channel. It read: “Tomorrow, I will blow up Hiroshima Station.”
Japanese cyber police set to work, trying to stop the would-be bomber. Good thing he made their job easier – way easier.
The police traced the message to the would-be bomber’s IP address, discovering that the threat was sent from a PlayStation 3 – something posted on 2channel later that same night.
The following day, on July 23, the police arrested an unemployed 19-year-old in Hiroshima City for the threats, Nikkan Sports reports. The bomb threat, as well as threats against the station master, were posted from the 19-year-old’s house.
This is the second time this year a suspect was arrested after apparently using a game machine to post threats online. Earlier this year, a 15-year-old threatened to randomly stab people in Shinjuku Station.
There seems to be a belief in Japan, an incorrect belief, that if you post something from either a home game console or a handheld, it is impossible to trace. This is incorrect – something the 15-year-old found out first hand. He told authorities, “I just wanted to see how much chaos it would cause.”
Shortly thereafter, the boy’s 19-year-old brother also made stabbing threats online. He was arrested near Shinjuku Station, brandishing a knife and saying, “I’m going to kill someone.”
The suspect in this latest arrest in Hiroshima is less revealing about his motive, saying, “I don’t want to say” when police asked why he made the bomb threat.
Culture Smash is a daily dose of things topical, interesting and sometimes even awesome – game related and beyond.
Top photo: アーク
Leave a Reply