Sushi chef drops knives on the train, causing panic and delays
Given the general rarity of firearms in Japan, knives are frequently used by those looking to intimidate others or inflict violence. And among those, kitchen knives are frequently mentioned in armed robbery reports, likely due to their imposing size and sharpness.
So these kitchen tools can be a cause for alarm when seen outside of their natural habitat, such as on an express train running along the Keikyu Airport Line in Ota, Tokyo, at about 6:40 p.m. on Aug 26. It was there that three kitchen knives fell out of a man’s bag, causing one panicked passenger to hit the emergency door cock, a lever that allows passengers to manually open carriage doors.
The train made an emergency stop at Awamori Inari Station so passengers could escape through the doors onto the platform. Some also called the emergency number 110 for the police or posted on social media that “there is a person with a knife” on the train.