[gatagato]

TOKYO — In a ghastly spectacle of a sort rarely seen in this orderly city, a man set himself on fire in front of horrified crowds at Tokyo’s busiest train station on Sunday in what appeared to be a lone protest against efforts to weaken Japan’s antiwar Constitution.

The police provided few details about the man, who survived with burns all over his body after being rushed to a Tokyo hospital. Firefighters appeared either to have been warned or to have discerned the man’s intentions, because they were on hand to douse him quickly with water once he set himself on fire with a liquid that looked like gasoline.

The self-immolation took place in broad daylight in front of hundreds of onlookers, who used cellphones and other devices to post graphic videos and photos of it on social media sites.

The images show a thin, middle-aged man in a dark suit who sat cross-legged atop the scaffolding of a pedestrian bridge in front of the busy Shinjuku train station.

At first, he used a megaphone to speak to gathering crowds.

While there is no audio with most of the images, several postings said the man told the crowd that he opposed efforts by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to loosen restrictions in the Constitution on the use of military force, which is interpreted as allowing Japan to act only in self-defense.

Mr. Abe has called for a new interpretation that would allow the armed forces also to contribute to the defense of allied nations under attack, something they cannot now legally do.

While Mr. Abe says Japan needs more robust military alliances to offset the growing might of China, opponents on the left have staged small street protests to warn that the change could embroil Japan in distant, American-led wars.

After making his appeal, the man then suddenly set himself on fire. One video, shot from a window overlooking the bridge, showed the man engulfed in yellow flames while he sat cross-legged, as if meditating.

Firefighters, who were waiting below, quickly sprayed him with their hoses.

One rescuer then clambered up to knock the still-burning man off the scaffolding and onto the center of the bridge in front of firefighters, who doused him for several seconds before treating him.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/30/wo...-in-tokyo.html
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/worl...icle-1.1848345

[kellyhound]

mental problems as acting over dramatic over something as to loosen restrictions in the Constitution on the use of military force

[FunkPumpkin]

I saw this over at BG this morning. As usual, the dickhead who's filling in for Marek, "Ate", turned this video into the usual anti-Zionist/anti-Semitic rant.

And, of course, the less sense someone's rants make, the smarter they think they are compared to the rest of us "sheeple".

[Bastet]

I'd be ready to protest for any cause I found meaningful, but setting myself on fire would be an exaggeration. Holy fuck, I can only imagine how painful that was. I am not going there!

[Kelseecat65]

Well, he showed them, didn't he.

[Sharon]

What horrible footage

I'll never comprehend self-immolation to make a point.

[kellyhound]

other angle

[gatagato]

That's even closer, thanks, KH

[corpsehands]

[docfr8]

Don't have any background on this other than a man who sets himself on fire protesting.