Horror outside busy Tokyo railway station as man calmly sets himself on fire in protest at Japan’s defence policy
- Hundreds of onlookers watched as the man set himself ablaze on the bridge
- He suffered serious burns before being rescued by emergency workers
- The action was in protest against changes to Japan's defence policy
- The country wants to be more assertive in international security matters
A man set himself on fire at Tokyo's busy Shinjuku railway station on Sunday in what appears to be a rare violent political protest.
The man, who appeared to be in his 50s or 60s, was taken to hospital after suffering serious injuries, said Daiji Kubota, an officer at the Shinjuku police station. He said the man's identity and the reason for the self-immolation was under investigation.
Footage of the incident on Twitter and other social media showed a man wearing a suit and tie sitting on a small mat along the metal framework above a pedestrian walkway with two plastic bottles of what looked like gasoline beside him.
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The man, who appeared to be in his 50s or 60s, set himself on fire at Tokyo's Shinjuku station. He had two bottles with him, which may have been petrol - drinking one and covering himself in the other
The man was seen calmly sitting on a small mat on top of Tokyo's Shinjuku railway station bridge, dressed in a suit and next to two
bottles of gasoline, before he set himself on fire
Firefighters pulled the man down onto the pedestrian bridge, using hoses and a fire extinguisher before he was taken away
The man was soon engulfed by a huge ball of fire as hundreds of people watched on in horror
Witnesses said the man spoke through a megaphone to protest the government's moves to change Japan's defence policy to allow it to
play a more assertive role in international security
Witnesses were quoted as saying the man spoke through a megaphone to protest the government's moves to change Japan's defence policy.
He then doused himself with gasoline and set himself alight as hundreds of people watched from below and from nearby buildings.
Television reports showed firefighters pulling the man down onto the pedestrian bridge walkway and using hoses and a fire extinguisher to put out the fire. The man was then taken away in an ambulance.
The man can be seen on top of the bridge, left, and right, emergency workers begin rescue efforts
Firefighters positioned on either side of the bridge used hoses to put out the fire
Police, firefighters, and medics stand atop the bridge after the severely burned man was taken to hospital
Japan's Cabinet is expected on Tuesday to approve a proposal calling for the right to 'collective self-defence,' which would allow Japan to play a more assertive role in international security amid China's growing military presence and rising regional tensions. Japan currently limits its participation even in U.N. peacekeeping activities to noncombat roles.
Critics say the shift undermines the war-renouncing Article 9 of Japan's Constitution, and opposition groups have staged constant but peaceful protests outside Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's official residence.
Japan has had very few self-immolations in past decades despite a long history of suicides by ritual disembowelment, or seppuku, dating back to the feudal era.
The most high-profile suicide for political reasons in the modern era was by Yukio Mishima, a right-wing author considered to be one of Japan's greatest novelists, who killed himself in front of the headquarters of Japan's Self Defense Forces in 1970 after an unsuccessful coup attempt.
Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2674771/Man-calmly-sets-fire-outside-busy-Tokyo-railway-station-protest-Japans-defence-policy.html#ixzz3695Aij9m
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