Chilling Forum Posts Foretold Tokyo Rampage
Anyone keeping an eye on the world news probably heard about the violent massacre of 7 innocents in Tokyo, Japan. Tomohiro Kato, now detained by Japanese authorities, rammed a rented truck into a group of bystanders before setting out with a dagger to continue a ghoulish onslaught that has sent chills up the spines of citizens in Tokyo and abroad.
Perhaps more disturbing than the deed itself are emerging reports that Kato issued a digital warning of his plans via an online forum known as “Extreme Exchange”. The cryptic Japanese symbols found in his posts disclosed the factory worker’s bloody intentions but were lost amidst the torrent of other messages found in the forum.
These events bring troubling questions to the forefront: Should our online activities be monitored and policed so as to prevent tragedies such as this from occurring? If so, whose responsibility is it to act in such cases; the webmaster, fellow users, or law enforcement authorities? Is morbidly aberrant behavior such as this simply impossible to regulate?
Such questions are loaded with controversy and are unlikely to be answered any time soon.