Aichi Prefectural Police headquarters (Mainichi)

       NAGOYA -- A 20-year-old man, who later tested positive for the coronavirus, was arrested in central Japan on Jan. 8 on suspicion of causing local rail service to grind to a halt on Jan. 8 by shouting "I have COVID" inside a train.

       Suspect Haruki Kitajima is accused of forcible obstruction of business. Just past 10 a.m., he allegedly yelled "I have COVID!" and other phrases at another passenger who was about to sit near him on a rapid service train headed from JR Toyohashi Station to Okazaki Station, causing the train to stop at Okazaki Station for around 15 minutes.

       Aichi Prefectural Police's Okazaki Police Station officers rushed to the scene in protective gear after receiving an emergency call. A PCR test administered after his arrest confirmed Kitajima had the coronavirus.

       Kitajima has reportedly denied the allegation, and was quoted as telling investigators, "I didn't want the other passenger to sit next to me during these pandemic times."

       (Japanese original by Seiya Tateyama, Nagoya News Center)

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