Man sets himself on fire in the middle of Japan’s Shibuya Crossing
- Security cameras and passers-by captured footage of the man setting his backpack alight before lying atop the small blaze
- No one else was injured in the incident, which police are treating as an attempted suicide
The incident occurred around 7.30pm and was captured on footage from a number of security cameras that are trained on the “scramble crossing” intersection outside Shibuya Station, as well as by several passers-by who uploaded the images to social media sites.
The video clips show the man, who has not been identified, starting to cross the intersection with a rucksack on his back. While other pedestrians are hurrying to cross, he appears to hesitate before taking his backpack off and setting it down on the road.
As some people glance in his direction, he appears to fall forward on his face before picking himself up again and setting fire to the backpack. With cars, taxis and buses steering around him, the man lies atop the small blaze.
Eventually, three police officers run into the crossing, with a clip on social media showing one policeman directing pedestrians around the still-burning remnants of the man’s bag. Another officer stands over the kneeling man, who is by this point shirtless and appears to be disoriented.
Firefighters then arrived on the scene as the blaze died down.