SoraNews24 —Japan News—

Whether it’s deserved or not, China has something of a reputation for producing convincing copies. Another thing the country is known for, however, is having authorities that do not suffer fools gladly…

China
(arrest • bus • China • floating • illusion • magic • stunt)

Executives arrested from scam dating sites that had 2.7 million users and only one female member

SoraNews24
Jun 8, 2015

Dating is never easy, is it? Going out and meeting strangers and talking to them can be painful, awkward, and downright terrifying. Fortunately, Internet dating sites have helped us cut through the trial-and-error process to find people we have deep, personal connections with — or, at least, who swiped right.

Unfortunately, online dating is also ripe for abuse, exploitation, and scams. If ever you needed a cautionary tale for being careful about who you give your money to, this group of dating site executives who ran multiple scam sites should suffice. Of the 2.7 millions users on the site, only one was a woman. The rest of the “women” the male members were chatting with online were all paid fakes!

Japan
(arrest • crime • dating • online dating • sakura site • scam)

Youth in toothpick prank videos sent to juvenile correctional facility

Japan Today
Apr 3, 2015

A 19-year-old youth who uploaded a series of prank videos on YouTube in January, including one in which he inserted a toothpick into a snack food in a supermarket, was sent to a moderate security juvenile correctional facility.

Japan
(arrest • crime • Japan Today • news • toothpick • YouTube)

Nonsensical conbini crime: Incapable clerk vs. drunk guy’s money

Audrey Akcasu
Jan 13, 2015

When you get change after paying for something in cash, do you ever actually count it to make sure you received the right amount? I sure don’t. Maybe I’m just too used to Japan, where the person working the register will count out each bill and the coins in front of you before handing the change over. It’s just a simple measure taken to double-check that the person at the register isn’t short-changing the customer.

Thorough as it may be, it’s not a flawless method, leaving room for human error, like not being able to tell the difference between a 1,000 yen bill and 10,000 yen bill. But really, who would make that mistake?

Apparently a teenager working the register at a convenience store in Nara recently managed to make that very mistake, but instead of short-changing the customer, he ended up giving 46,000 yen (US$390) in change for a 13,000 yen (US$110) purchase. Fishy! Oh and then, the customer got arrested. Fishier!

Japan
(arrest • conbini • convenience store • crime • Nara • stupid)

Don’t point that camera at me! Man arrested for taking “normal” picture on train

KK Miller
Sep 3, 2014

Japanese people love to take pictures. Whenever you see them on vacation, no matter if it’s their first time or their thousandth time, they are always taking them. In fact, Japan was one of the first countries to sell mobile phones equipped with a camera back in 2000. Having a camera on you at all times sure does come in handy, as you’ll always be able to capture that special moment wherever you are.

Unfortunately, sometimes that special moment is a peep-shot or a scandalous photo which is certainly a violation of privacy. Japan has taken a very no-nonsense approach to help stop these highly inappropriate photos, and it comes in the form of the Anti-Nuisance Ordinance. So powerful is this law that the latest person to be arrested has caused a bit of commotion. His crime? Taking a picture of a fully-clothed woman sitting beside him on the train.

Japan
(anti-nuisance ordinance • arrest • camera • clothed • crime • Kanagawa • law)

Taipei subway on high alert after police mistake an autistic man for a murderer【TomoNews Video】

TomoNews
Jun 4, 2014

An autistic man playing on a calculator was mistaken as a murderer by incompetent Taipei city straphangers who called police.

Taiwan
(arrest • police • TomoNews • video)

Man gives up on life and travels 1,000 miles on stolen bikes, incredible journey ends with his arrest

Michelle Lynn Dinh
Mar 12, 2014

Sometimes when life gets you down, you just want to get away. Run, bike, drive; whatever it takes to get out of the current situation and into a happier state. That’s exactly how one middle-aged man from Chiba Prefecture was feeling when he decided to leave his failing business and begin a nomadic life traveling across Japan. However, his sudden and deliberate flee spanning over an astonishing 1,600 km (nearly 1,000 miles) ended in his arrest five months after it began because of the man’s poor choice in transportation – stolen bikes.

Japan
(arrest • bike • crime • travel • wtf)

Two middle-aged men use 3DS to meet, assault 12 year-old girl, Ibaraki police say

Scott R Dixon
Nov 7, 2013

Japan’s Yomiuri Newspaper reported on Tuesday that Ibaraki Prefectural Police had arrested two men on suspicions that they abused a 12 year-old girl they had met using Nintendo’s Internet-connected 3DS portable gaming system. Even though the girl’s parents had used parental controls to disable the Internet access on the 3DS, she found a way to reconnect the device and go online, which led her to the two middle-aged men.

Japan
(arrest • Chiba • crime • Ibaraki • internet • Nintendo 3DS • police • Yokohama)

“You’re taking peeping photos, aren’t you?” Smartphone extortion scam hits hard in Shinjuku

Rachel Tackett
Sep 19, 2013

Many would agree that smartphones are the easiest and most convenient way to stay entertained no matter where you go, provided there’s reception. Although, they do distract us from what’s happening in the immediate vicinity. Texting and checking apps while walking through the streets of a busy city can lead to collisions with people or signposts, or even traffic if one isn’t careful! Now, a recent string of scams in Tokyo shows that the distractedness we experience when on our phones also make us a target. Read More

Japan
(arrest • blackmail • crime • shinjuku • smartphone)

Police in Tokyo search for a man who called out to a child in a park, netizens scratch their heads

Andrew Miller
Jun 22, 2013

Tokyo police released a statement earlier this week asking the public for any information they may have regarding an incident that occurred on June 15 at approximately 9:20 a.m. wherein a man called out to a child playing in a local park.

As it transpires, though, all the man is believed to have said to the boy was, “You’ll never play for your country doing it like that!” leaving netizens wondering exactly why there should be any cause for concern.

Japan
(arrest • Captain Tsubasa • Nakano • police • weird)

Two Japanese youths arrested for placing an exploding bag of dog poop in a local police box

Andrew Miller
Jun 13, 2013

Two youths were arrested by Aichi Prefecture police on June 11 after they placed a plastic bag full of dog feces and lit fireworks inside a police box, showering the small room with the bag’s contents.

Japan
(Aichi • arrest • crime • youths)

Japanese Netizens Rally Behind Politician Arrested For Brutally Attacking Wife’s Lover

Master Blaster
Mar 14, 2012

Earlier this month in Kanagawa Prefecture, a high ranking government official was arrested for allegedly assaulting his wife’s “male acquaintance.” The attack took place when Mr. Noda (47) discovered his wife entering a hotel with another man (44) after following her when she left home late in the evening. In the heat of the moment, Mr. Noda confronted them and allegedly ended up severely beating the man in the face and chest, breaking several ribs.

A few days after the confrontation, the alleged victim filed a complaint with the authorities. After Mr. Noda was arrested, the story hit blogs across the internet and triggered a landslide of support for him.