Ibaraki Man Tries to Kill Boss After Hanami Party

I think all of us, at one point or another, have hated the company we worked for... and what did we do about? We looked for another job; tried to grin and bear it; or simply died a little bit inside every day. We did not become homicidal.

So what to make of an Ibaraki-ken, Japan man who drove his car into his boss' home in an attempt to kill him?

Again, many of you may be thinking 'Amen, brother!" Still, Japan - It's A Wonderful Rife can not condone this sort of action, no matter how much that devilish imp on his shoulder tells him to.

Aoki Tomohito (surname first), a 40-year-old truck driver with a local, undisclosed transportation company in Bando, Ibaraki, spent some time at the office hanami (flower blossom viewing party) at the company president's home and 1 1/2 hours after leaving, returned to smash it into the home of the company president.

Was alcohol involved? Probably. It was a hanami party after all - and the man's a truck driver. He had a few... but....

It was 4:20 PM on April 15 when Aoki slammed his car into a storehouse where the party was taking place, injuring himself and four others. 

It wasn't just a simple matter getting drunk and then driving home - no! Aoki actually left the party when it was over at 3PM, driving off in his own car.

He then returned 1-1/2 hours later—this time driving the car belonging to his common-law-wife—and deliberately rammed it into the storehouse, driving right at the place where people stood - they had remained to help clean up the boss' place like good underlings. I will assume it was women who stayed back to help.

Aoki has admitted he tried to run over the people on purpose saying: "I was not happy with the company."

Dude... it's every employee's dream to kill his boss - but not the poor people who are there performing low-level duties.

Anyhow... if mental illness is a viable defense, I would say Aoki should claim it. Thank goodness, however, that no one died from this ridiculous incident.

Aoki has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder. 

This blog does find it interesting that Aoki came back to do the crime while driving his wife's car and not his. While this blog is not sure exactly what vehicle was involved, without sounding too much like a sexist pig, it may have been a toy car reserved for Japan's women... which may be why no one was killed when the car struck them.

It's just a guess, however.  

Files compiled by Andrew Joseph