Action Taken against 43 Minors for Harassing Osaka Police

Osaka, Oct. 26 (Jiji Press)--Police in Osaka Prefecture, western Japan, have taken action against 43 minors for harassing behavior targeting police, such as throwing firecrackers, shouting a slogan and making prank calls.

Such acts, known as “shorinji racing,” are spreading across the country. “We will deal strictly with such behavior as serious criminal acts,” an Osaka police official said.

According to the police, a total of about 250 cases of nuisance acts, such as making an emergency police call from a pay phone and hanging up right after shouting “Shorinji-ja” (We are shorinji), were confirmed in the prefecture in September and so far this month. Among other such acts were kicking in the glass doors of and tearing down posters in police boxes.

The 43 minors are 7 to 16 years old, with some of them aged 13 or under. Some were arrested on suspicion of causing property damage.

Shorinji racing has become known among young people mainly through video-sharing app TikTok and other social media platforms.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]