Man Arrested for Slashing Seat with Knife While Traveling on Train in Osaka Pref.

The Yomiuri Shimbun

15:25 JST, March 20, 2026

A 56-year-old man was arrested Thursday for allegedly slashing a seat with a utility knife inside a train traveling through Osaka Prefecture, police said.

According to the Osaka prefectural police, the suspect admitted to the charges, saying, “I’ve done it 50 to 60 times before.”

He was also quoted as saying, “I was angry about the frequent delays and cancellations, and the difficult-to-use design of the trains.”

The man is suspected of using the knife to cut the seat he was sitting on while the train was traveling between Kyuhoji Station and Kashiwara Station on the JR Yamatoji Line on Thursday night.

The prefectural police said they have been investigating about 300 similar incidents that have occurred in the West Japan Railways area, mainly on the Yamatoji Line, since 2022.