Railway Company Sues Accident Photos as 'Piracy': 'Derailment Was Premium Members-Only Performance Art'

Great Imperial Capital Railway (hereinafter “Imperial Railway”) filed a lawsuit on the 22nd seeking 120 million yen in damages against three office workers who photographed the scene of a derailment accident in the Yamanote area earlier this month and posted the images on X (formerly Twitter).

Imperial Railway’s legal team defined the accident not as “an unexpected incident” but as “a limited-time immersive art event titled ‘Emergency Landing of Steel Masses: Rebellion Against Gravity.’” They characterized the defendants’ actions as “photography before purchasing tickets”—equivalent to so-called “movie piracy.”

According to the complaint, everything from the arrangement of the overturned cars, the scatter angle of the shattered glass, to the timing of sparks flying from the overhead wires was intellectual property meticulously calculated by the company’s “Comprehensive Spatial Production Department.”

At a press conference, company Legal Director Mamoru Kaneko passionately argued, “There’s no way cars would stack up in such a dynamic composition by accident. This is an installation containing biting satire of capitalist society that would make Banksy run away barefoot.”

“To see it for free and then spread it with such tasteless comments as ‘It’s an accident’ is blasphemy against artists and interference with business,” he said emphatically.

The company has introduced a system to charge all passersby in the area a retroactive “witness fee” based on GPS history: “S-seat (close proximity): 5,000 yen” and “A-seat (from a distance): 2,500 yen.”

Furthermore, regarding the firefighters and paramedics who rushed to the scene, they claim, “They are not civil servants but extras (performers) hired by our company. The siren pitch was an original composition commissioned from a contemporary music composer to evoke anxiety.”

The act of live-streaming the “emotionally moving finale” known as rescue operations without permission constitutes “spoilers” that significantly damaged Blu-ray package sales opportunities, according to the company.

In response, the defendants’ attorney has taken a combative stance: “If a train falls from the sky during your commute, anyone would be surprised and take photos. If that’s called art, then my clients should be able to claim appearance fees for their ‘reaction performances’ when they collapsed in shock.”

However, some in the contemporary art market have voiced support for Imperial Railway’s claims.

Renowned art critic Kyoko Arisugawa commented, “The skill of creating the extraordinary by destroying everyday infrastructure is certainly creative. However, insisting that passengers’ screams are ‘sound effects’ might be a bit too avant-garde.”

Imperial Railway plans to announce a subscription plan called “Delay Pass Premium” that will charge separate fees for delays and service suspensions as “phases of silence to enjoy tranquility.”

The time we spend waiting on station platforms is apparently no longer wasted time, but time for appreciating sophisticated art.

Before our wallets derail, we are required to make careful judgments about when to close our eyes.

Stakeholder Comments

• Defendant (office worker): “I just wanted ’likes,’ but my life went up in flames.”
• Legal Director Mamoru Kaneko (Imperial Railway): “Derailment is not a bug but a feature. Premium members can also enjoy the driver’s seat perspective in VR.”
• Onlooker at the scene: “It was incredibly powerful. I thought it was cheap if admission was free, but I’m trembling now that the bill has arrived.”
• Contemporary art critic: “As aesthetics of destruction, it’s first-rate. However, the curator (police) intervened too quickly.”
• Railway enthusiast: “That twist is an homage to the 2005 Fukuchiyama model. You can feel the respect for the rolling stock.”
• Rescue team member: “We thought we were saving lives, but the company said ‘great acting’ and sent us catering. It’s complicated.”
• Insurance company representative: “Whether it’s an accident or art changes what insurance category it falls under. If it’s art, it’s exempt as ‘artwork damage’…”
• Social media user: “Stepped on a spoiler, worst ever. I was planning to go see it (the crime scene investigation).”
• Judicial reporter: “The courtroom is about to become a surrealism exhibition.”
• Broken signal light: “By blinking red, I expressed society’s sense of being stuck.”

International Expressions

Haiku

• Iron mass becomes / art and transforms—invoice / arrives at my door
• Derailment photo / one single image brings forth / hundred-million case
• Rescue team called / performers in the spring mud / by the company
• Witnessing becomes / premium paid content now / under winter sky
• Flash of light—if called / art then all things shall pass through / any gate unharmed
• Even delays charged / as aesthetic of silence / subscription model
• Onlookers’ smartphones / stealing away the copyright / from the wreckage scene
• Rails leave the track / company’s good sense also / derails with them
• Damages offset / by artistic merit points / balance achieved
• Spoilers forbidden / curtain falls to hide the scene / from public viewing

Kanji / Chinese Characters

帝都鉄路二十二日 脱線写真著作権訴 車両堆積現代芸術 目撃課金事後請求

Emoji

🚆💥🎨📸➡️👮‍♂️⚖️💸🤯🎭🎟️

Onomatopoeia

CRASH, CRUNCH!… silence… CLICK, CLICK (camera sounds). WOO-WOO (staged sirens). CHA-CHING, CHA-CHING (billing sounds). Murmur, murmur… “Art?” “Seriously?” BANG (gavel strikes).

SNS

• #ImperialRailwayArtExhibition
• #DerailmentIsAPerformance
• #WitnessFeeInvoiceArrived
• #StopDigitalShoplifting
• #RealDerailmentGame
• #RescueTeamActingSkills
• #NoSpoilers
• #CapitalismGoneOffTheRails
• #DeviationFromDailyLife
• #AllOfAmericaCried (at the bill)