Start date 2000 | ||
The Neomugicha incident (西鉄バスジャック事件, Nishi-Tetsu basujakku jiken) is the name given to the hijacking between May 4 and May 5, 2000 of a Japanese bus by a user of internet forum 2channel after placing a warning on the website.
An hour after posting a cryptic threat in a thread with the name "Neomugicha" ("Neo-Barley Tea"; ネオむぎ茶), the 17-year-old hijacked a bus "the Wakakusu" (Nishi-Nippon Railroad Co., Ltd.) in Dazaifu, Fukuoka, Japan with a Gyuto knife, stabbing one passenger to death and injuring 2. The Special Assault Team then stormed the hijacked bus and captured the youth alive.
The incident came as a shock to both 2channers, who had mocked Neomugicha as a liar, thinking he was posting about an attack that had already occurred, and to the general public.
Later, a poster named "Neouuroncha" ("Neo-Oolong tea") attempted to imitate Neomugicha by plotting to blow up the Odakyu Electric Railway in Japan and posting warnings about it on 2channel. After the Neomugicha incident, however, the Japanese police were keeping a close eye on 2ch, so he was identified and arrested before his plan could be carried out.
A poster called "Neomugishu" ("Neo-Beer"; shu=alcohol) also attempted to imitate the incident, planning a terrorist attack on a railway company, but he was also arrested.