March 7, 2005
KASHIHARA, Nara -- A powerful judo throw from an elderly Kashihara farmer has thwarted a wannabe armed robber's plans to steal from him, police said.

The 66-year-old farmer disarmed the man demanding money from him at knifepoint and forced him to flee. He repelled the would-be robber while sustaining only minor injuries to his hands.

The elderly farmer had belonged to a judo club at high school and remains physically fit, having completed five full marathons while in his 40s.

"It was all just a reflex action," the farmer said.

Police are looking for his assailant, describing him as being in his 50s or 60s and wearing a gray uniform.

Police said the mugger had rang the farmer's doorbell early on Sunday morning, telling the farmer's wife he was a newspaper deliveryman and waiting outside the front gate of their home.

Suspecting something was amiss, the farmer went out to greet the man and was confronted by him brandishing a knife. The farmer grabbed the man and hurled him over his shoulder, slamming him into the ground.

The knife clattered out of the man's hands. He got up and ran away and the farmer returned to his home and alerted the police. (Mainichi Shimbun, March 7, 2005)