Author: Rupert Wingfield-Hayes BBC News, Tokyo

Earlier this month, as many as 17 people were injured in a train attack, shocking Japan. Most of the attention surrounding the attack was on the alleged perpetrator. Someone saw him wearing what looks like a clown-but does this attack reveal more about the overall situation of Japanese society?

Japan is a very safe country.

I know this is a bit cliché. But only when you live here will you realize how different Tokyo is from other big cities on earth.

The petty crimes that are common in London or New York do not exist here. Violent crime is something you would hardly think of-at least as a man.

Recently, when a violent attack occurred on a crowded train, it sounded a lot of alarm bells.

The so-called "clown" attack on Halloween night made many commuters doubt whether it is safe for them to use the train network. The authorities scrambled to assure the citizens of Tokyo that all measures are being taken to ensure their safety.

This also triggered a feast of media speculation about the alleged perpetrator and whether there were other people like him.

The scene [train] and the "clown" costume worn by the 24-year-old defendant are in production.

If you have seen a real movie, you may conclude that this is a crime of imitation-imitating the scenes in the New York subway car.

In fact, according to reports, the defendant told his interrogator that he "adored the role of the clown" and wanted to "kill as many people as possible."

But criminal psychologists said that the real meaning and timing of this costume is not to imitate, but to draw attention to the anger he committed.

"I think he wants to stand out," said Professor Yasuyuki Deguchi, a criminal psychologist at Tokyo Mirae University.

"He is a distorted attention-seeker. By dressing up as a clown on Halloween night, he thinks he will stand out. By acting like a clown and saying that he respects him, he can get more attention from people. I don't "I don't think he decided to copy the Joker because he watched this movie. "

After the attack, I talked to many criminal psychologists and they all said the same thing; this is not a crime of a mentally ill person.

In fact, large-scale attacks are rarely carried out by people with identifiable mental disorders. On the contrary, they are suitable for different models. The vast majority of them are implemented by people who feel excluded from society.

"Social isolation or lack of social connection is one of the biggest risk factors for criminal offenses, such as mass killings and other very serious crimes," said Professor Takayuki Harada, a criminal psychologist at the University of Tsukuba.

"So, they have no relatives, no relatives, no jobs, and no social ties. They are disappointed in the society and very hostile to it. They also have suicidal tendencies," he said.

We know very little about the people who allegedly carried out the "clown" attack.

But the experts I spoke to compared it to another incident in Tokyo in 2008, when a young man drove a truck into a group of shoppers in the popular Akihabara electronics district and then began to stab bystanders.

The perpetrators of the 2008 attacks came from an elite family under high pressure. But he failed the college entrance exam and ended up taking a humble job.

Before the attack, he had attempted suicide and posted a message on the Internet outlining his plan to kill others.

"It's like terrorism, but it's not terrorism," said another criminologist, who asked not to be named.

"Akihabara [the attack] was a mass murder," he said. "This is the behavior of an ordinary person or a weak person, a bullied person. They tend to accumulate pressure.

"They have suicidal thoughts, so they think,'If I want to commit suicide, I might as well take others with me.' They especially want to blame others for their situation."

These crimes have similarities to large-scale attacks in the United States, but there are also some key differences.

First, Japan has extremely strict gun laws. Secondly, the performance of aggressiveness here carries a strong social taboo-this may be one of the reasons why such crimes are so rare.

"The attack is sometimes directed towards the heart-[usually in the form of] suicide," said Professor Harada of the University of Tsukuba.

"If you switch it outside, it will be homicide or other aggressive behavior. These are two aspects of the coin. Japan is known for its high suicide rate.

"But aggression and other types of criminal behavior are very low. So the Japanese are likely to turn aggression into introversion. This is one of the reasons why aggression in this country is very low."

However, there is a perception that such attacks are becoming more frequent in Japan. Since August, there have been three accidents on Tokyo's train network.

Psychologists say that the pandemic may have exacerbated economic hardship and social isolation—two possible triggers. They are also worried about the amount of media attention that the clown attack will cause.

"When similar incidents occur (in the past), we will see imitators inevitably appear," said Professor Harada. "So I think that the media provides detailed information about how crimes happened. This is a problem. So, I think it's a big problem."

In fact, we have already seen an attempt to mimic an attack, and the police may have avoided other attacks.

But while the concerns are understandable, the experts I spoke to said we should look at these numbers-they show that male violence has declined sharply in the past 50 years and Tokyo remains the safest place on earth one.

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