Reactions from onlookers and staff were just as disconcerting as the man’s behaviour.

The Japanese rail network is known for being safe and punctual. That is, of course, unless there’s an individual causing havoc on their tracks.

That’s what commuters were faced with yesterday, when a man jumped down onto the railroad tracks at Nishi-Kokubunji Station, in the western region of Tokyo Metropolis.

Dressed in a black tracksuit and carrying what appeared to be purchases from a shopping trip, the man stood in the middle of the tracks, pointing at someone across the way while yelling out,

“Hey, you! Are you able to drop a bomb on America?
Hey! Are you able to drop a bomb on America?”

The unidentified man continued with this line of questioning, walking across the tracks until he eventually climbed up on the other side of the platform, where he was guided away by a group of commuters.

Take a look at the disturbing video below:

https://twitter.com/MILK_Puzzle/status/915387591851044864

While it’s difficult to understand exactly what’s going on, it appears that halfway through his rant the man decided to aim his question at the entire platform as he approached it, pointing his finger at everyone and shouting out, “Are. You. Able. To drop a bomb on America?!”, as alarms began to sound at the station.

After shouting the question out for the ninth time in the video, the man suddenly says, “64 percent. Understood.” He then approaches the platform, placing his bags on the ledge as a good samaritan walks across to help him up from the tracks.

A number of other commuters come to his aid as well, ending up in a scuffle as the man attempts to push them away, all the time continuing to shout about America. The first man to act then appears to get hit across the face by the irate individual, until finally two other male commuters grab onto his arms and help to lead him away, presumably to the station office.

While the man’s actions were shocking, the reaction by commuters was also disconcerting, given that the platform was packed with people who would’ve been able to subdue the man before he lashed out at the person who initially came to his aid. Still, in a situation like this, it’s hard to believe that in the whole two-plus minutes that this video was being filmed, not one station attendant can be seen in the area.

According to commuters, this incident caused extreme delays, so it appears that station staff were aware of the incident taking place and had taken precautions to stop inbound trains from arriving at the station, as evidenced by the sounding of the alarms during the clip.

Sadly, no news is available as to why the man decided to take to the tracks to shout out questions about dropping bombs on America, nor is there any information to say what the outcome was for those involved.

Hopefully the man is receiving the help he needs and the station staff are able to take stock of the events that took place and work on improving their response plans in future. And when it comes to onlookers in these types of situations, here’s hoping that more people will feel emboldened to intervene when necessary, to ensure the safety of themselves and those around them.

Source: Hachima Kikou
Featured image: Twitter/@MILK_Puzzle