Unemployed Saitama man carried out dozen arson attacks due job-search stress

SAITAMA (TR) – An unemployed 44-year-old man suspected in nearly one dozen arson incidents in Ageo City and nearby last month has told Saitama Prefectural Police he committed the crimes due stress in finding work, reports the Sankei Shimbun (Nov. 25).

On October 22 at 11:55 p.m., Takashi Kanaizuka, a resident of Ageo, allegedly used a lighter to set fire to a garbage can and a caddy shack at a golf course.

Kanaizuka, who has been accused of carrying out arson in an uninhabited building and inflicting property damage, admits to the allegations.

Police suspect that Kanaizuka set fire to a vehicle, warehouse and other properties in 10 other incidents at the same golf course, a school and other locations between October 14 and 22.

The suspect told police he committed the crimes due to stress accumulated in searching for a job. “I did it as a means of recreation,” he said.