A video showing a man believed to be the boss of a “host club” bar repeatedly striking an elderly taxi driver has caused outrage in Japan after it was uploaded to YouTube and Niconico video.

The video, which is incredibly hard to watch and has already been removed several times due to its disturbing content, led to internet users uniting for a common cause and demanding that the hat-wearing bully be identified and arrested.

**** Warning: The following video contains scenes that some viewers may find disturbing.****

The incident is believed to have taken place in Towada city, Aomori prefecture yesterday. The video, seemingly taken by a patron, begins as the tall, hat-wearing “owner” of the bar began yelling at the taxi driver who is initially out of shot.

It is believed that the taxi driver was called to the bar to collect a drunken young woman, but that, upon his arrival and seeing her condition, the driver refused to escort her to his waiting cab.

“Your customer is waiting. Come and get her!” the owner yells, pointing to a woman wearing a white outfit and furry white boots, before following the driver outside.

The cigarette-sucking patron recording the argument, chuckling with amusement as the old man is berated, then leaves his seat and follows the group outside to capture more of the uncomfortable scene.

Despite being grabbed by the tie and pushed and shoved around, the taxi driver does not retaliate, and at first tries to explain why he would not enter the bar to remove the young woman as he was ordered to. Not satisfied with the taxi driver’s response and clearly enjoying his power trip, the younger man shoves the driver against a wall before slapping him in the face repeatedly.

Once or twice during the video, a single voice can be heard saying “come on now, that’s not cool,” but even so, the elderly taxi driver is subjected to a humiliating beating before being led outside and pushed to the ground.

Twitter users were quick to condemn the bully, calling him everything from “despicable individual” to “a worthless piece of crap” and demanding that “we catch this nasty piece of work as soon as possible.”

Thankfully, news arrived earlier today that the club owner– reported to be one 38-year-old Shinichi Hatakeyama– had been identified and subsequently arrested.

Credit, of course, goes to Towada city police for their work in identifying and arresting the man, but the response from Japan’s internet users, as well as those who repeatedly posted the video and demanded that it be recognised, must also be congratulated. It is believed that, thanks to the number of tweets and message board posts concerning the incident, information about the man’s identity was revealed, contributing to his arrest.

Naturally, the same message boards lit up when the news of the man’s arrest came in, with posts such as “You guys are the best,” and “I’m starting my day with a good feeling in my heart!” being common.

Finally, one internet user attempts to sum up the entire ordeal in one, simple line:

“Internet > Police force”

We’re not sure we’d go that far, but we’re certainly thankful that we live in an age where communication tools like Twitter exist and that we have a means of spreading information and helping those in need. Well, in-between reading Hello Kitty underwear and cosplay articles, anyway…

Additional sources: ハムスター速報　YouTube video
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