-
Japanese man gets arrested for stealing 30 yen (US 27 cents) from Shinto shrine’s collection box
投稿日 2018年11月15日 10:00:58 (ニュース)
-
続・お知らせ。海外セレブゴシップ&ニュース
-
お知らせ
-
We spot the legendary dekotora Aki Kannon, dedicated to actress and singer Aki Yashiro
-
New Pokémon GU collaboration dresses all the family, including babies for the first time
-
How do European Cup Noodles taste to a Japanese palate?
-
We’ve been doing it wrong – Japanese genius shows us how we should all be making sandwiches【Pics】
-
The future is now with full face sunglasses
-
Natto-infused ramen is a thing — we tried it, we love it【Taste test】
-
Jellyfish and Halloween in perfect harmony at Sumida Aquarium event
-
Japanese toilet paper collection opens our minds as we open our butts
-
Aomori police on the lookout for man shouting unsolicited advice at kids about dating and ramen
-
Former Arashi members Sho Sakurai and Masaki Aiba get married… Wait, that didn’t come out right
-
Creator of Japan’s longest-running manga, Golgo 13, passes away, leaves fans one last gift
-
Crazy cheap cosplay at Daiso? How to transform into Dragon Ball’s Vegeta at the discount shop
-
7 Halloween-themed afternoon teas you won’t want to miss this year
-
Krispy Kreme Japan creates doughnut burgers that are a meal and two desserts all in one【Photos】
-
Get in the damn drift car, Shinji? Evangelion Tomika toy brings D1 machine home in miniature form
-
Demon Slayer Nichiren Blades ready for new duty: Slicing through your sweets as dessert knives
-
Man in Japan arrested for breaking into ex-girlfriend’s apartment to steal her Nintendo Switch
-
The Japanese Internet chooses the top too-sexy-for-their-own-good male voices in anime
-
First-ever Studio Ghibli x Russell Athletic range pays homage to My Neighbour Totoro
-
Super Nintendo World at Universal Studios Japan announces first expansion with new Donkey Kong area
-
Cup Noodle pouch satisfies our never-ending need for instant ramen
-
Retro Japanese train is our new favourite office space
-
How do Japanese fans feel about Netflix’s live-action Cowboy Bebop opening sequence?
-
We try Uniqlo coffee at first-ever cafe inside Ginza flagship store
-
The number of elderly people in Japan this year has yet again smashed multiple records
-
Mr. Sato broadens his home drinking horizons at Kaldi【Japan’s Best Home Senbero】
-
We try Japanese Twitter’s newest trend the Penguin Egg, end up hatching something very disturbing
-
Takoyaki makers surprisingly good at grilling meat for yakiniku too
Sponsored Link
Sometimes it’s not how much you steal, but where you steal it from that really gets you in trouble.
Outside of sites that have significant historical or architectural importance, most Shinto shrines in Japan don’t charge admission. However, you’ll want to have at least a little money in your pocket if you’re visiting one, since it’s customary to make a small monetary offering while saying a quick prayer before the shrine’s altar.
The offering doesn’t have to be anything extravagant. A single five-yen coin (worth about US$0.04) is a common choice (since the Japanese words for “five yen,” go en, are pronounced just the like word goen/”prosperity”). Since few individual visitors donate more than 100 yen, you don’t bother handing the money directly to a priest or shrine maiden. Instead, you simply toss it into a collection box, like the one seen here.
Most shrines leave their collection boxes outside, allowing worshipers to make donations at any time of day or night. This means that in any given town in Japan, there are boxes of cash with whatever money has been donated during the night sitting unattended until the shrine staff comes in to work the next morning.
Knowing this, 55-year-old Masakazu Eguchi, an unemployed man living in the city of Futtsu, Chiba Prefecture, went to a local shrine early on the morning of November 13, where he broke into the collection box. However, it apparently hadn’t been a very busy night, spiritually speaking, for the citizens of Futtsu, and Eguchi’s heist only netted him 30 yen (US$0.27) in coins.
▼ The 100 million-yen Kyoto home invasion robbery of 2010 this was not.
Sponsored Link
Still, stealing is stealing, and Eguchi was arrested shortly before 6:30 by a police officer who caught him in the act. Some might say that’s a draconian application of overwrought justice, considering Eguchi hadn’t even stolen enough to buy himself one of Japan’s cheapest yet most delicious frozen treats. It’s important to consider why there was a police officer hanging out at the shrine so early in the morning, though. Prior to Eguchi’s arrest, the shrine’s collection box had recently been robbed twice, and the officer had been posted at the shrine under the assumption that it was only a matter of time until the thief came back for a third theft.
Reports don’t indicate whether Eguchi has admitted to the first two robberies, but he does admit that he was robbing the box on November 13, saying, simply, “I wanted money.”
Given the small amount of monetary damage Eguchi caused (excepting any possible repair costs for the collection box itself), it’s unlikely he’ll face harsh punishment for his actions. Still, in a country where crime is taken so seriously that you can get arrested for stealing a (as in one) grape, it’s always a good idea to avoid taking things without asking.
Source: Chiba Nippo via Jin
Top image: Pakutaso
Insert images: Pakutaso, SoraNews24
Source: SORA NEWS24
Sponsored Link
最新情報