Shibuya Scramble Crossing in Tokyo:
Video Shows Woman Repeatedly Pushing Pedestrians
Controversy Grows as Views Surpass 10 Million
Outrage Online Over Whether Incident Was Intentional Assault
Some Raise Possibility of Hate Crime Targeting Chinese Tourists
A video showing a woman repeatedly pushing past pedestrians at the Shibuya Scramble Crossing, a major tourist attraction in Tokyo, Japan, has been circulating and causing controversy. The video was shared on February 24 by a Taiwanese user on a social networking service (SNS) platform, accompanied by the caption, "On the last night of my trip, I tried to take a photo at the Shibuya crossing, but someone forcefully pushed my child." In just two days after being posted, the video surpassed 10 million views and spread rapidly across various online platforms.
A video showing a woman repeatedly pushing past pedestrians at the Shibuya Scramble Crossing, a major tourist attraction in Tokyo, Japan, has been circulating and causing controversy. Screenshot from social media.
The footage shows a woman shouldering past pedestrians at the iconic Shibuya Scramble Crossing. She first brushed against and shoved an adult man, then forcefully pushed two children with her arm as she crossed the crosswalk. The last girl she collided with lost her balance and was pushed out of the frame.
Viewers who saw the video criticized the incident, saying, "If it was intentional, it is clearly assault," and added, "Such behavior, especially directed at children, is absolutely unacceptable." Some also pointed out that taking photos in the middle of a crosswalk could inconvenience other pedestrians. However, the majority of commenters criticized the act of pushing someone hard enough to make them fall as excessive.
The video shows a woman shouldering past pedestrians at the Shibuya Scramble Crossing, an iconic landmark in Shibuya. She brushed past and shoved one adult man, then forcefully pushed two children with her arm as she crossed the crosswalk. Screengrab from social media.
Some users raised the possibility that this could be a hate crime targeting tourists of a specific nationality. Recently, anti-China sentiment has been spreading in some online spaces in Japan, fueled by diplomatic and security tensions with China and issues such as the release of contaminated water. In particular, since the resumption of tourism, there has been a surge in Chinese and Taiwanese tourists, and some extreme online communities have been making negative remarks about foreign tourists.
Previously, on February 18, the Chinese Embassy in Japan publicly mentioned an incident in Sapporo, Hokkaido, where a Hong Kong tourist was assaulted, and again urged Chinese nationals to avoid visiting Japan. The embassy stated, "We once again urge Chinese citizens to avoid visiting Japan," and advised, "Chinese people residing in Japan should raise their awareness of safety precautions and strengthen self-protection."
However, it has not been confirmed whether this incident actually constitutes a hate crime. As of now, Japanese police have not released an official statement.
Some analysts have pointed out similarities between this case and the so-called "Buttsukari" (ぶつかり), a slang term in Japan referring to deliberate collisions. "Buttsukari" means intentionally bumping into people, and it became a social issue in 2018 when a video showing a man in Tokyo colliding with at least four women within 30 seconds spread online.
At the time, the perpetrator intentionally knocked down female pedestrians by bumping their shoulders and was arrested by Japanese police. Since then, similar incidents targeting women and children have sporadically occurred in places such as subway stations and busy districts, raising public awareness. Meanwhile, Tokyo, where the incident occurred, has recently seen the number of foreign tourists recover to pre-COVID-19 levels, attracting visitors from around the world. As a result, there is growing attention on the local authorities’ investigation and follow-up measures regarding this incident.
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