Neomugicha incident


The Neomugicha incident is the name given to the hijacking between May 4 and May 5, 2000, of a Japanese bus by a user of internet forum 2channel after placing a warning on the website.

History

An hour after posting a cryptic threat in a thread with the name "Neomugicha", the 17-year-old hijacked a bus "the Wakakusu" in Dazaifu, Fukuoka, Japan with a Gyuto knife, stabbing one passenger to death and injuring 2.
The Special Assault Team's Osaka and Fukuoka teams stormed the hijacked bus and captured the teenager alive. The unnamed teenager was arrested under the Firearm and Sword Control Law and the Law for the Punishment of Extortion Involving Hostage-Taking.

Aftermath

Later, a poster named "Neouuroncha" attempted to imitate Neomugicha by plotting to blow up the Odakyu Electric Railway in Japan and posting warnings about it on 2channel. After the Neomugicha incident, however, the Japanese police were keeping a close eye on 2ch, so he was identified and arrested before his plan could be carried out.
A poster called "Neomugishu" also attempted to imitate the incident, planning a terrorist attack on a railway company, but he was also arrested.
In 2006, the suspect was officially released from a medical reformatory facility. This action led to calls to reform the Juvenile Act, which was law since 1948.