Many people around the world say they hate their job. Are you one of them? Do you dislike your boss? Is it a problem with coworkers? Is it that you feel stressed and overwhelmed? Maybe you are no longer passionate about what you do. Ultimately, while you may very well hate your job, in all likelihood, you’re still going into work. Two Japanese men, however, each decided they would rather stab themselves with a knife than go to work.

japanese man stabs himself with a knife to get out of work

Strangely enough, the two men were unrelated. According to police, neither man knew the other or had ever contacted the other person. They each just decided that they could not face the prospect of going into work. Second, each man thought he was smarter than the police. The first man, 54-year-old Masaru Miura from Nagoya, told police that as he stood at a urinal in the bathroom of a Tokyo subway line, someone stabbed him in the back. When they checked, authorities found a bloody, inch-long wound near the man’s spine.

japanese man stabs himself with a knife to get out of work

After the victim’s arrival at the hospital for treatment, police examined the bathroom and noticed some problems with the 54-year-old’s account. Even before the officers went to the hospital to question Miura, he admitted to hospital staff that he had lied. He explained that he took his own 5-inch long knife and stabbed himself in the back. He threw the bloody knife into a planter and then went to the police. Stunned, officers asked him why. The man’s response was logical, but baffling: “I thought that getting injured would be a good way not to go to work.”

japanese man stabs himself with a knife to get out of work

Meanwhile, across the country in Kurume City, Fukuoka, police received an emergency telephone call. A 26-year-old man had been rushed to the hospital with a severe stab wound on his arm. As he received stitches, law enforcement officials questioned him. He claimed that a coworker tried to steal his backpack in the parking lot of the baked goods company where they worked. When he refused to let go, the coworker stabbed the 26-year-old. Similarly to the situation in Tokyo, police quickly identified inconsistencies in the man’s story. Additionally, the doctor treating the wound told the officers the angle of the injury suggested it was self-inflicted. Presented with all of this evidence, the man admitted that he “didn’t want to go into work,” so he stabbed himself.

Police arrested both of the self-stabbing men for filing false police reports and obstructing investigations. The fact that both incidents happened on the same day refocuses attention on the stressful nature of working in Japan. However, in Japan, the stress level is high for both men and women. That stress even led to the creation of one Tokyo company that allows women to rent hot guys to show up at the office to wipe away their tears.

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Steve Pame

Steve Pame

A part-time graduate student and high school teacher, Steve enjoys just about anything that makes him forget all the student loans he'll never be able to pay back. He enjoys visiting his extended family, spread throughout the world, whenever he has a chance.