Police in Tokyo on Thursday arrested a 49-year-old company employee from Fujisawa, Kanagawa Prefecture, on suspicion of assault after he hit a 34-year-old woman who was texting on her smartphone while walking along.

According to police, the incident occurred on June 24 on the platform at Nijubashimae Station on the Chiyoda subway line. Fuji TV reported that the suspect, Yoshiyuki Kiuchi, has admitted hitting the woman and quoted him as saying he did it “in order to teach people who walk while texting to watch out for others."

Kiuchi rammed his body into the woman’s right elbow, which was extended at the time. The woman was knocked to the ground and sustained chest and elbow injuries requiring three weeks to heal.

Kiuchi was identified through station security camera footage. He told police that two years ago, a woman engrossed in her smartphone collided with him and he fell down some stairs. He said that he has been deliberately bumping into people texting about once every three days "to teach them manners."

Police said that since June, there have been four similar incidents reported and they are questioning Kiuchi about his involvement in those cases.

© Japan Today