I could have been way more creative with the title there, but this is the kind of story that people like to read.
I’ll be very simple with it although I’m sure the story is much deeper than this… (it may not be though… it may just be the case of a bosozoku tough guy getting his butt kicked.)
A bunch of biker gang kids, known in Japan as the bosozoku (who probably conjure images of their glory years, but it’s not really the same anymore)… anyway, about four of them went out riding looking for a fight.
They picked an out of work 22 year old guy and began starting the fight.
Once the guy who was considered to be the biggest baddie of the gang was getting the crap kicked out of him, the other members of the gang called 110 (the equivalent of 911 in most of Japan). The police promptly showed up, correctly assessed the situation, and arrested the gang and their wimpy leader.
The article is making national press because who doesn’t like a story like this. He was also quoted as saying “I don’t need no education!”, probably referring to the offer of accommodations at the local reformatory. (the link above goes to the Yahoo Japan news article in Japanese)
The group were also arrested on charges of having been riding around looking for motorcycles and mopeds to smash with an aluminum baseball bat before finally finding someone to give them a beat down.
“I don’t need no education” – sounds like he needs some Clockwork Orange-style treatment to me! Have heard some interesting stories about encounters with bosozoku here in Okinawa in the past, with the bosos usually acting tough providing they have at least a 4:1 advantage in numbers (even then not enough in some cases).
There have been a lot of movies and dramas glorifying the tough boy type of character, but even in shows like “Gokusen”, the tough guys get their butts kicked up and down the abandoned warehouse until their beautiful, young, and strangely super-powered teacher shows up to save them.