Says stress from engine noise drove him to do it.

At approximately 4:30 in the morning on June 21, Tokyo operators for Japan’s 119 emergency dispatch number received a call from a security guard in the city’s Koto Ward, informing them that a fire had broken out on the premises of a nearby business. Firefighters rushed to the scene and spent the next three hours putting out the blaze, which had been set in the parking area of a go-kart tour company, causing damage to three of the vehicles and the office’s exterior walls.

Thankfully, no one was injured, but investigators determined that the fire had been set intentionally. The search for the arsonist didn’t take them very far, geographically speaking, and the Tokyo Metropolitan Police have now announced that they have arrested a man who works in an office directly adjacent to the kart tour company’s lot.

28-year-old Yuga Matsuoka (whose unusual given name means “elegant,” ironically) has admitted to the charges, saying to investigators in his statement that “The sound of [the kart’s] engines was loud and stressful. I set the fire with a lighter.”

▼ The Koto Ward facility of Street Kart Tokyo, where the incident took place

Adding an unusual wrinkle to the case is that in early May a note, written in English, was left on Street Kart Tokyo’s property, saying “As of tomorrow, stop running [the karts’] engines, If you do not abide by this, I will set them on fire.” The police are currently investigating whether or not Matsuoka was the author of the note.

▼ Video of Matsuoka being taken into custody

Arson is, of course, a serious crime, and a number of commenters on the above video were quick to denounce Matsuoka’s way of dealing with the situation.

“If you have a problem like this, you’re supposed to settle it through talking.”
“I get that he was pissed about the noise, but I can’t understand setting stuff on fire because of that.”
“Aren’t you supposed to file a noise complaint with the police before you go starting fires?”

However, several other commenters could strongly sympathize, even if they didn’t necessarily agree with Matsuoka’s actions.

“I get where he’s coming from. Noise-based stress is really rough.”
“It sounds like he had a serious grudge. I bet he had to put up with the noise all day long.”
“I think we need stricter noise ordinances.”
“I want these companies to start putting mufflers on their karts,”
“I honestly think it’s strange that karts can be registered for use on public roads.”
“They’re a major nuisance. We should get them off the streets.”
“If you wanna go zooming around in a kart, do it in Mario Kart.”
“Japan’s public roads aren’t a tourist playground.”

The last two comments point to a wide divide on how kart tours have become perceived in Japan. The vast majority of participants are foreign tourists, often dressed in video game or anime-inspired costumes, and while they all look to be enjoying themselves, that sense of fun often seems to override their ability to focus on driving safely, with collisions and nuisances such as kart drivers get out of their vehicles at traffic lights to snap selfies.

With Tokyo residents and domestic Japanese travelers making up only a small percentage of kart tour participants, there’s a growing attitude among locals that they’re noisy, dangerous entertainment for ill-mannered overseas tourists. Also worth taking into account is that visiting overseas’ vacationers schedules don’t necessarily align with locals’ leisure time, so invasively noisy go-karts can be running during what are otherwise necessary working hours for the local populace.

But again, arson is no laughing matter, and Matsuoka now faces some serious penalties for his poor choice of how to deal with the problem. However, odds are he’s not the only one in the area with a bone to pick with the kart tours, and hopefully the others will choose less enflamed methods of voicing their displeasure and appealing for change.

Source: TV Asahi via Yahoo! Japan News via Itai News, NHK News Web, Tokyo Shimbun, Asahi Shimbun, YouTube/ANNnewsCH
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