[iNews24 Reporter Kim Da-woon] A string of deliberate "shoulder-bump" incidents in Japan—where individuals intentionally shove others with their shoulders—has drawn international scrutiny. A recent video showing a former South Korean professional gamer-turned-actor involved in one such encounter has intensified the controversy.
According to an online community post on the 17th, Min Chan-gi—a former StarCraft professional who now works as an actor—conducted a livestream in Fukuoka on the 16th.
While Min was filming on the street, a Japanese man can be seen deliberately rushing toward him as if to collide; the moment was recorded on camera.
Startled, Min hastily stepped aside; there was no physical contact.
After Min moved aside, the man stopped and turned back to look at him.
Min later said on the stream that he had seen men pacing back and forth attempting to shoulder-bump people and that he intentionally dodged.
Such "shoulder-bump" incidents have recently become a social problem in Japan.
In February, footage from central Shibuya, Tokyo showed a woman deliberately pushing a foreign child as she passed, prompting international condemnation.
A video posted by a Taiwanese traveler shows his daughter posing with a V sign on a crosswalk when a masked woman walking from the opposite direction shoved the child forcefully, causing her to fall.
Recently, a social media user visiting Nagoya shared a clip filmed inside a convenience store showing a Japanese woman roughly pushing the user's young daughter with her bag as she passed, which provoked public outrage.
The user wrote that while they could have tolerated it happening to themselves, they would not accept it happening to their daughter. They added that the perpetrator might not feel remorse but urged Japanese people to widely share the video so the behavior would not recur.
Individuals who deliberately collide with pedestrians in public have become more common in Japan, earning the label "butsukari" (deliberate collision) group.
These incidents have grown frequent enough to be considered a societal problem.
Reports indicate perpetrators often target physically vulnerable people, including children and women.
On the 4th, the Chinese Embassy in Japan posted on its official WeChat account that a series of deliberate collisions had recently occurred in Japan and attracted public attention, urging Chinese nationals residing in Japan to exercise caution.
