In Japan, People Are Randomly Shoving Other People

A smiling kid posing at Tokyo's famed Shibuya crossing is now central to Japan's latest public-behavior worry: the rise of the "bumping" attacker. Viral video from Feb. 25 shows the young girl, visiting from Taiwan, knocked flat from behind by a masked woman who keeps walking, per the Guardian. Police haven't said whether they're investigating, but the clip has revived concern over butsukari otoko—literally, "bumping man"—a term used for people who deliberately slam into strangers in crowded spaces. The phenomenon involving what Japan Today calls a "uniquely Japanese class of criminals" first drew wide attention in 2018, when footage surfaced of a man plowing into multiple women at Tokyo's Shinjuku Station.

Though reliable data is scarce, a 2024 survey of 21,000 adults found that 14% said they'd been targeted, and 6% had witnessed such an incident, per the Guardian. Cases have included a Fukuoka associate professor accused of hitting passersby with his bag, as well as a woman near Tokyo's Tamachi Station reportedly struck hard enough to result in broken ribs—prompting the station to add bollards to keep foot traffic in lanes. Both men and women appear in social media clips purposely shoulder-checking others.

Sociologist Kiriu Masayuki of Toyo University calls bumping a "reflection of modern society," saying some men, in particular, are lashing out amid economic anxiety and shifting gender roles, viewing women as low-risk targets; they assume they won't be reported or caught. Tourism is adding friction, too, as travelers crowd already packed crossings to capture social media shots, irritating some locals. After the Shibuya incident, the Chinese Embassy in Tokyo urged citizens to keep their distance in crowds and avoid using phones while walking. The girl's mother, who says her daughter wasn't hurt, tells the Guardian she'd unknowingly filmed a "terrifying scene," then was bombarded with online criticism for photographing her child in the crosswalk.