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Japanese netizens puzzle over weird coronavirus crime — a theft of over 3,000 gallons of water

Katy Kelly May 15, 2020
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The water was swiped from a karaoke enterprise that closed up shop during the self-isolation period.

Here’s the thing about movies where the world is under threat, and society as we know it is poised to crumble…people don’t tend to react in real life like they might in The Walking Dead or Mad Max. Generally, people want to help one another as best they can, even if certain bad apples would have you think otherwise.

But that’s not to say that crime vanished altogether during the pandemic’s self-isolation measures. In fact, the crime that has been happening is either especially sordid, taking advantage of vulnerable people’s anxieties or goodwill, or especially weird. An Ibaraki karaoke shop owner complained on Twitter in a now-deleted Tweet that he had been hoodwinked out of water during the self-isolation period, and has everyone scratching their heads of the hows and whys of such a crime.

▼ Why would you even need to steal that much water in the first place?

“About half a year’s worth of water, 100 metric tons (3175.47 gallons) was used [on the premises of my store] without permission,” the tweet author wrote. “The inside of the establishment is protected under contract with a security company, but I never imagined someone would steal the water.”

He implored other companies following stay-at-home orders to tell their water companies to shut off service to external water faucets in the hope that no one else would suffer a similar fate. There has been at least one other case of water theft confirmed in this period from a restaurant in Kanazawa, so the warning seems sadly necessary.

Confused Internet commenters tried to piece together possible culprits and motivations from the limited amount of information.

“I bet Kaiji is responsible,” mused one, referring to the hapless titular gambler from Nobuyuki Fukumoto’s manga.

“It’s not like there’s currently a water shortage or even a heatwave,” another commenter added. “Maybe it’s a farmer?”

“I bet someone just left the water running as a prank,” someone said, earning murmurs of assent and comparisons to the Home Alone movies from other commenters.

Meanwhile, other commenters were focused on more pressing issues.

“I’d be real suspicious of the first person to walk through those karaoke bar doors once it re-opens.”
“I don’t think anyone would survive after drinking that much anyway.”
“When I think about how much time and money it would take to transport all that water, it just doesn’t make any sense…”

At least it’s not all bad news when it comes to water. Some areas in Japan are easing up on water and sewage bills for a few months, reducing the need to swipe any more water from unsuspecting buildings.

Source: NHK News via Golden Times
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