Persona 5: The Phantom X’s villain ‘Subway Slammer’ has gone viral, with the suited-up salaryman becoming a goldmine for meme material. While his love for slammin’ people may be comically exaggerated, this everyday-looking businessman is based on a real-life Japanese issue.
The Subway Slammer, whose real name is Takeyuki Kiuchi, is a disgraced ex-baseball player who takes out his frustration on people in public. His main source of relief comes from violently shoulder barging into women on busy train platforms – hence the name Subway Slammer.
Just like Kamoshida in Persona 5, the Subway Slammer targets people who he knows won’t be able to fight back. He also brushes off his shoulder barges as accidental, making it particularly tricky for authorities to charge him with any real crime. After all, train stations are busy places and people often rub shoulders without ever meaning to.
However, the Subway Slammer is based on a real phenomenon in Japan known as butsukari otoko (bumping man).
The Subway Slammer is a real problem in Japan
Butsukari otoko, or bumping man, refers to men who deliberately bump into women in public spaces, particularly on trains or station platforms. These encounters are often dismissed as accidental, but viral videos and posts online highlight how intentional they truly are.
One of the most infamous cases dates back to May 25, 2018, when a middle-aged man was filmed deliberately shoulder‑checking multiple women on a busy platform in Shinjuku Station. The video quickly went viral and sparked a wave of victim reports, which in turn, helped bring nationwide attention to the bumping man phenomenon.
Tokyo Weekender reported that in 2024, out of a sample of 20,000 people, 14% of those surveyed stated they had been attacked, while 6% revealed that they had witnessed a butsukari incident, and 5% replied that they had experienced both.
While Japanese train companies have responded to the issue by increasing security patrols at major stations, bumping men incidents still occur. So, while Subway Slammer may not be a real person, his love for violently bashing into people is based on reality.
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