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

Cherry Blossoms in Nishinasuno

Because the cherry blossoms are starting to appear in Tokyo, I thought I would sort of honor that event with the photo up above. 

It was taken in Nishinasuno-machi (Nichinasuno Town) back in 1992, 20 years ago.

It has my classic photographic elements - a real image across the middle, a reflection below, and an over-hanging branch in the foreground up above. What is odd, is that the sky is blue rather than filled with ominous, dark grey rain clouds.

After all of that, you may also have noticed that the photo is not quite in focus... that it's not as sharp as it should be. No... it's not your computer monitor. It's the photo (sigh).

For those who know (and those of you who don't), during this epic time if the year, one's office often sends a couple of representatives out to a park to stake out prime real estate under a cherry tree in bloom. They could be sitting out there all day until the mid- to late-afternoon when the rest of the office shows up to begin the hanami enkai (flower viewing party - though for the Japanese, it's usually cherry blossoms that are viewed). 

I'm unsure how much actual cherry blossom viewing goes on after the first few minutes upon arrival, because very quickly alcoholic beverages and a modicum of snacks and food are brought out.

After way too much drinking of wobbly pops (beer) and o-sake (Japanese rice wine), people get drunk. Bums get pinched. Promises get made. Friendships are cemented. And someone probably pees themselves in laughter after the gaijin (foreigner)  - let's say me - makes everyone laugh with some stupid Japanese line he picked up from watching Shimura Ken on television.

Like I said...  people are drinking... and drinking, and for a change of pace, there is more drinking.

Pretty soon, everybody's vision gets blurry.

And that is what this photo represents. Really.

Or... as is more than likely, I may indeed suffer from astigmatism, which means I have trouble completely focusing my eyes from time to time, and what I thought was a great photo, is really just a blur... much like the drinking party. Ahem.

Like I said... this photo was taken by myself in Nishinasuno... I live and work in the big city next door of Ohtawara-shi, Tochigi-ken. My OBOE (Ohtawara Board of Education) office party would not be held in Nishinasuno. It would be held, more than likely on the grounds of the ruins of Ohtawara-jo (Ohtawara Castle)... if there were any actual ruins. It's just a big park. I've been sitting on a blog about this place for a month now...

Anyhow... after my office party in Ohtawara - you should NEVER bring anything that takes a photograph to any sort of party where there may be drinking, by the way - the next day I rode my bicycle out to Nishinasuno and found this wonderful vista by getting lost - something I could do with remarkable ease in Japan. That's when I took the photo above. I need to get my eyes looked at.

Cheers (kanpai)
Andrew Joseph