At a railroad crossing in Saitama Prefecture, a man who works for JAF and was driving ahead has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after allegedly trapping the car behind him inside the crossing in an attempt to have it hit by a train. Saitama Prefectural Police say they “have not been able to confirm any tailgating,” but it has also come to light that dashcam footage shows the man pulling his own car away only after watching the crossing barrier come down all the way. On 5ch, opinions are split over whether the trapping was intentional, or whether the car behind had been tailgating him first.
He allegedly trapped the car behind him inside the railroad crossing so it couldn’t get out, in an attempt to have it collide with a train and kill the male driver. On the 19th, Saitama Prefectural Police’s Iwatsuki Station arrested Kenichi Kato (52), an organization employee living in Magome, Hasuda City, in the same prefecture, on suspicion of attempted murder. According to investigative sources, Kato works for the Japan Automobile Federation (JAF), which provides roadside assistance and similar services. Kato denies any intent to kill, saying “I didn’t mean to kill him,” and claims “I was the one being tailgated.” Meanwhile, a relative said dejectedly, “I’m the one who’d like to know what happened.”
The incident occurred at around 5:25 p.m. on the 18th. According to a Saitama Prefectural Police announcement, the scene was a railroad crossing on the Tobu Noda Line, between Shichiri and Iwatsuki stations.
According to investigative sources, immediately after crossing the tracks, Kato stopped his car and left the vehicle driven by the male victim (56), who was following behind, unable to get out of the crossing. Kato then reportedly got out of his car, walked over to the victim’s vehicle, and warned him about things like “you’re following too close.” When the crossing’s warning alarm began to sound, he is said to have returned to his own car.
Source: news.yahoo.co.jp / Original article here
He could've just driven forward and broken through the barrier, but I bet he deliberately didn't — so he could make a big deal out of it.
And sure enough, he got the other guy arrested for attempted murder this way.
>However, the victim's dashcam recorded Kato pulling his own car forward only after confirming the barrier had fully come down.
>However, the victim's dashcam recorded Kato pulling his own car forward only after confirming the barrier had fully come down.
Did you actually read the article?
This is straight-up attempted murder — he's looking at something like a 10-year sentence.
Apparently the JAF guy, the perpetrator, only pulled his car away after confirming the barrier had come down.
That shows intent to kill, sure, but claiming the trapped car behind him wasn't tailgating him is a stretch.
Tailgating aside, there are plenty of idiots who barge into a crossing without properly checking ahead and end up stuck.
If it's a crossing with no traffic light right after it, you'll find plenty of people doing that.
Rule-wise that's true, but a lot of cars enter right as the car ahead is just about to clear the crossing.
I don't get it.
Did he force his way through while the barrier was down, and the car behind him followed?
What's going on here?
He was blocking him right in front of the barrier. Straight-up murderous intent 😅
The perpetrator crosses the tracks.
He gets out of his car and confronts the victim(?).
After the barrier comes down, he checks it and then pulls his own car away.
That's the story, right?
So then why did the victim drive his car into the crossing in the first place?
I guess he waited for the barrier to come down before pulling away, specifically to trap him inside.
If anything, the driver who pulled in behind him while traffic was clearly backed up is the idiot.
Same as at intersections — you get idiots who pull in even when it's obviously jammed ahead and then start honking.
If you can't read a situation like that, you shouldn't be driving.
There was no traffic jam ahead of the suspect's car. He blocked the way on purpose.
It wasn't jammed. If it had been, the police wouldn't have gone as far as an arrest.
He was arrested because he intentionally trapped the guy inside the crossing to kill him.
Same as the Tomei Expressway tailgating case (a notorious 2017 incident) — stopping in a driving lane on the highway was ruled tantamount to murder.
Don't you think it's messed up to say 'he tailgated so it's fine to kill him'?
Is that basically what's happening here?
It's not like it changes your arrival time by more than a minute or two anyway.
It's fine when someone weaves through lanes in an annoying way to pass me while I'm just driving normally —
but then I always catch up to them at the next red light, or the one after that,
and there's definitely a certain number of drivers out there who make me think 'is this guy actually an idiot?'
Doesn't have to be this guy specifically, but did anyone catch the footage on Nippon TV?
Timing-wise it was probably the 'every.' evening news slot.
'Trouble over following distance? Man, 52, stopped after crossing the tracks and walked away, possibly trapping the car behind him inside the crossing — arrested on suspicion of attempted murder'
https://asahi.5ch.io/test/read.cgi/newsplus/1787129941/119
119: Anonymous Donburako Wed, Aug 19, 2026 18:20:03.91 ID:m4PlKnU40
Just saw it on the news — the car behind was totally tailgating.
Way too close.
133: Anonymous Donburako Wed, Aug 19, 2026 18:22:16.24 ID:v9DN2dfb0
>>119
Was that NTV?
That following distance at that speed is way too close.
147: Anonymous Donburako Wed, Aug 19, 2026 18:23:56.37 ID:m4PlKnU40
>>133
Yeah, NTV.
That's not a normal following distance.
Some people just don't have the concept of stopping properly or keeping a safe following distance.
If you cross that crossing regularly you'll have seen it — cars that don't even stop and just roll on in with the flow of traffic. That's the type we're talking about.
Eh, he probably did it with something as casual as 'let's give him a scare.'
The fact that he's a JAF employee probably factors in too. If it were some random person, it might just be harassment, but a JAF guy? There's no way he wouldn't know exactly what could happen if you leave someone stuck inside a crossing.
Even if that were true, you're still not supposed to enter a crossing unless the car ahead has fully cleared it AND there's enough space for your own car to get all the way through.
Sure, that's not allowed either.
But deliberately stopping to obstruct him is way worse.
Do you understand the difference between intent and negligence?
Glad you're learning that blocking someone in front so they can't move is even worse.
Sorry, I meant 'perpetrator,' not 'victim.'
Neighbors are saying it wasn't tailgating, and besides, tailgating and simply not keeping enough following distance are completely different things. A JAF employee should definitely know that.
According to the police's current information, they haven't been able to confirm any tailgating.
this trial could end up being pretty darn funny.
People who tailgate are basically habitual offenders who also speed — it usually comes as a package deal.
*This article is compiled as an excerpt/summary from the 5ch (Breaking News Plus) thread “[Saitama Crossing Trapping] Police: ‘Can’t Confirm Tailgating’ — Dashcam Shows Him Pulling Away Only After Barrier Fully Closed, Also Under Investigation for Endangering Train Traffic.”
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