Danica Davidson
April 23, 2025 
On April 21 in Saitama Prefecture, police arrested 48-year-old Daisuke Nishimura while he was naked at a junior high cram school. After breaking into the school, he allegedly physically attacked the teacher with a mug, causing a need for stitches, and grabbed a girl by the arm. The girl broke free and ran off. The unusualness of this situation was enough to catch the attention of the Japanese media, but then police suspect the man went on a nude crime spree before showing up at the school, a crime spree that has left at least one person dead.
About 20 other crimes were committed in the hour and a half leading up to the school break-in, such as stealing from a convenience store, more than one car theft (including a taxi with people in it), and multiple hit-and-runs. Approximately a dozen people were hurt, and one of the hit-and-runs resulted in a death. If it was indeed the same man doing these acts, then he was committing crimes about every five to 10 minutes. And he was apparently naked (except for shoes) the whole time.
The acts left many Japanese netizens wondering if the man is struggling with mental health issues, or if he were under some kind of powerful drug while on the rampage. SoraNews24 collected a sample of online responses:
“I kind of hope it was because of drugs. At least it would make sense.”
“I wonder if he got naked because he thought it would get him deemed insane.”
“I don’t think he would do all that if he were just drunk.”
“I’ve never seen a crime like this in my life. What’s happening to Japan?”
There are people in the anime world (an animator and an actor) who are also named Daisuke Nishimura, but this does not appear to be them. Instead, it appears they all just happen to have the same name.
After being detained by police and questioned about what happened, Nishimura simply told authorities, “I shouldn’t talk about it.”
Source: SoraNews24, Kyodo News
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Danica Davidson is the author of the bestselling Manga Art for Beginners with artist Melanie Westin, plus its sequel, Manga Art for Everyone, and the first-of-its-kind manga chalk book Chalk Art Manga, both illustrated by professional Japanese mangaka Rena Saiya. Check out her other comics and books at www.danicadavidson.com.
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