Woman slammed for shoving girl posing at crowded Shibuya Crossing in Tokyo
A young girl posing for a photo at Tokyo's iconic Shibuya Crossing was forcefully shoved by a woman walking past her, sparking outcry over the woman's behaviour.
A 11-second video posted by Instagram user @peipeilin527 shows a large crowd of pedestrians walking across Shibuya Crossing, with many of them stopping on the crosswalk to take photos.
At the start of the video, a girl, presumably the user's daughter, bounces into frame, beaming as she holds up a peace sign to pose.
A woman wearing a white mask and a blue coat then approaches the girl hurriedly, slamming into her so forcefully that she flies forward.
The clip ends as the girl falls.
In a follow-up post uploaded a day later, peipeilin527 thanked netizens for their concern, adding that her child did not suffer major injuries as she broke the fall by landing on her knees.
At its busiest, between 1,000 and 2,500 pedestrians cross the intersection every two minutes, according to the Japan National Tourism Organisation.
Woman's actions linked to 'bumping men' phenomenon
The clip has been viewed over 12 million times. Though the comments on the original post were disabled, fierce discussion ignited across various social media platforms, with outraged netizens slamming the woman's actions.
Eagle-eyed viewers pointed out that the woman had collided with three people in the short 11-second clip — an man and two young girls — and concluded that the woman had committed her actions intentionally.
Reddit users linked the woman's behaviour to a phenomenon in Japan called "bumping men", where individuals — predominantly men — intentionally collide with others in crowded public spaces as a way to relieve stress and frustration.
One Reddit user condemned the woman's behaviour, but also argued that tourists stopping in their tracks to take pictures at the crossing can be a nuisance to other pedestrians.
"This is abhorrent behavior and I don't condone it at all. Although the amount of people stopping in the middle of Shibuya Crossing for photos and tomfoolery is annoying for people just trying to cross the street. Physical violence is definitely not the answer though," the Redditor said.
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