Young Railway Fan Faces Charges of Stopping Trains to Get Photos

The Yomiuri Shimbun

15:48 JST, June 13, 2023

NUMAZU, Shizuoka — A Kanagawa Prefecture teenager who allegedly caused the stoppage of a number of trains because he wanted to take photos has been referred to the Numazu Branch of the Shizuoka District Public Prosecutors Office.

Police have sent papers to prosecutors on the 17-year-old high school student from Yokosuka who had allegedly pushed the emergency stop buttons at six railroad crossings on the JR Tokaido Line in Numazu on Jan. 7 this year.

The boy has admitted to the charges, saying that he had wanted to take photos of trains “from my favorite angles,” the police said.

According to Central Japan Railway Company (JR Tokai), the incident caused the stoppage of 20 trains going in either direction, affecting about 4,970 passengers.