"Put a Colleague with Intellectual Disability in the Washing Machine Saying 'It Smells'... 'Lost My Mind' Sparks Outrage in Japan"

Two Men in Their 30s Injure Colleague with Intellectual Disability in His 50s
Put Him in Large Washing Machine and Turned It, Claiming "It Smells," Causing Injury
Japanese Netizens Demand Severe Punishment, Saying "They're Crazy"

Kyoto Police image. Unrelated to the article content. [Photo by Kyoto Prefectural Police website]

Office workers who put a colleague with an intellectual disability into a large washing machine, claiming he smelled bad, and caused injury have been arrested.

According to reports from Japanese media such as YTV on the 4th (local time), the two suspects arrested on charges of injury are two 37-year-old male office workers living in Kyoto City. They are accused of putting a 50-year-old male colleague into a large washing machine installed at a commercial laundry facility in Kyoto City, where their company is located, in March this year, and operating the machine, causing bruises all over his body with a recovery period of two weeks. They committed the crime by telling the victim with an intellectual disability, "You smell bad, so we will put you in the washing machine." The washing machine is a drum type, approximately 2 meters in width and length, and is known to be used for washing items such as dolls or tents used in events. The victim received medical examination at a hospital a few days after the injury, and the crime was uncovered when a suspicious doctor reported it to the police. The victim eventually quit the company. The suspects admitted to the crime to the police, who are investigating the details of the case.

Japanese netizens are outraged that a colleague with an intellectual disability, who is 13 years older, was bullied. One netizen said, "My son also had a developmental disability, and because of that, he was bullied by friends when he entered middle school," adding, "At that time, the teacher scolded strictly, so the bullying stopped and he graduated safely, but these people never had anyone to scold them until they became adults," expressing regret. Another netizen said, "There are too many immature adults. People who look down on others and try to stand out must have inferiority complexes and strong narcissism," and added, "Discriminating and causing injury because someone has a disability is unforgivable," calling for severe punishment. Netizens urged, "This is not an isolated case; discrimination and abuse must have been normalized regularly. A thorough investigation of the company itself is necessary."