Currently, Japan has 259 confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus (Covid-19).
And this has also brought a spike in harassment and bullying cases over the outbreak, the Japan Times reported.
Such appears to be the case in a video uploaded to Twitter on Feb. 28, by user @__Aerials, showing an elderly man in a furious confrontation with another passenger, who had coughed without a mask, SoraNews reported.
The incident had happened on the Yamanote line in Tokyo.
Translation:
"On the Yamanote line, adults started kicking up a fuss when a man coughed
Towards the end, a fight which i don't get, started"
What happened?
The incident began when the younger man seated on the left coughed.
This resulted in the older man, seated on the right, to get up and confront the younger man by standing over him and shouting at him.
As such, the video begins with the older man seen standing over the younger man, shouting "b*st*rd" and demanding him to stop.
Screenshot from @__Aerials Twitter
The older man then returns to his seat, until he is told by the younger man that he is acting strangely, whereupon he immediately gets back up to stand over the other party and shout at him once again, SoraNews further highlighted.
Gif of video from @__Aerials Twitter
The video then concludes with two women intervening in an attempt to defuse the situation, with one of them tapping the older man repeatedly on his left arm.
Gif of video from @__Aerials Twitter
Not the first time there has been a strong reaction towards someone coughing on the train
This is not the first time that someone has reacted strongly on a train over Covid-19 fears.
Earlier on Feb. 18, another commuter in Fukuoka had pressed the emergency button on the train after seeing another rider cough without wearing a mask.
The train came to a halt after the emergency button was activated and later made a prolonged stop at the nearest station, Befu Station.
The train was delayed by three minutes and marked the first time that the button had been pressed over Covid-19.
Top image collage screenshots from @__Aerials Twitter