Japanese man arrested after trying to burn Tokyo

A 28-year-old Japanese man was arrested on Wednesday on suspicion of arson, trying to burn down the property of a Karting company, causing damage to three cars. The suspect Yuga Matsuoka admitted to the crime, saying the noise from the engine “pressure” him. He allegedly burned a fire at a container used for industrial waste on the house. The flames then spread to three parked karts.

The incident occurred in the early morning of June 21. Masuka reportedly just finished his shift, working in the warehouse next door. Fortunately, no one was inside the building at the time. A security guard patrolled the area after he noticed the fire, known as emergency services. It was quickly extinguished. In addition to damage to the kart, nearby walls were burned.

Notes sent to Karting a month before the arson attack

According to NHK, the company owns about 70 karts and received a letter in English in May, threatening to “burn the kart if it starts tomorrow.” The note is placed on a parked vehicle. Police are now investigating whether the letter is related to the arson attack.

Street Kart Tours first appeared in Tokyo around 2011 and soon became popular among tourists looking for a unique viewing city. The first company, Maricar, was officially established in 2015. Two years later, Nintendo filed an intellectual property lawsuit against Maricar, lending out character clothing such as Mario, Peach and Luigi to its clients. It was forced to pay a loss of 50 million yen.

Warmly welcomed by tourists and threatened to locals

The company stopped using Nintendo-themed outfits and renamed them as street karts. Today, several kart companies offer tours in Tokyo. Although tourists are very popular, they are usually unpopular due to several major issues. These include safety issues, traffic disruptions and noise interference. Between January and August last year, seven personal injury accidents involving karts and 18 property damage accidents. Last October, a company was charged by police for renting karts to unlicensed foreign tourists and having them drive on public roads.

Related Articles