Act of violence at Tokyo University: Student injures eight fellow students with a hammer!

Act of violence at Tokyo University: Student injures eight fellow students with a hammer!

A horrific incident rocked Hosei University in Tokyo today when a 22-year-old sociology student attacked at least eight fellow students with a hammer during a lecture. According to reports from Small newspaper The attacker was arrested at the scene. The injured, all conscious, were hit in the head and police suspect pent-up anger could be the motive behind their violent act.

A frightening trend

Violent crime is relatively rare in Japan, but recent years have shown a worrying rise in attacks. After the recent knife attacks, including the murder of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in July 2022, this event sets another dark tone. Already in January 2022, an attacker stabbed three people in front of the University of Tokyo, while last December a knife attacker attacked two students in a McDonald's branch. Such incidents raise fears of increasing violence in a society otherwise considered safe.

As Japan struggles with societal challenges, the University of Tokyo is striving to increase the number of women in science and combat gender-based discrimination. Todai has unveiled a five-year plan to rapidly increase the number of female teachers. Currently only 12 percent of professors are women, a number that will be increased through targeted measures such as the creation of 300 new positions by 2027, reports Sumikai.

The university's leadership, including Vice President Kaori Hayashi, sees these reforms as a crucial step to promote gender equality in the academic environment and thus also improve the quality of research. The measures are not only aimed at internal changes, but are also intended to raise awareness of gender issues in Japan.