Tokyo Times

Photographs from a small group of islands

Current Affairs

Salary men seniors

In a plan to counter the nation’s ageing population and future pension problems, a governmental advisory panel has hit upon an ingenious solution. Have people work longer, thus delaying their pension claims.

The panel called for Japan to make it possible for people to work until they are 75 by the year 2030. And in a gesture of benevolence, a governmental subcommittee also recommended creating a society in which people can maintain good health until the age of about 80.

Giving future salary men seniors a measly 5 years on average to really enjoy their retirement. That’s big of the government.

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It’s me

Over the last 6 months or so, the “it’s me” telephone scam has become more and more common in Japan. And buoyed by their success, its perpetrators increasingly audacious.

The con is a fraudulent technique were unscrupulous individuals pretend to be the child or grandchild of the person they call. They then make up a false situation, and attempt to extort money from the unsuspecting victim.

A much-favoured method is to claim there has been a car accident, and that they urgently need some money (deposited into a specified bank account) in order to pay off an injured motorist or pedestrian. As preposterous as this sounds, and the fact you’d assume the victims would recognize that the voice on the telephone didn’t belong to their child/grandchild, it’s obviously a good money-spinner. As judging by news reports, it would appear that this technique swindles at least one person every week.

And we aren’t talking small amounts of cash here either. Generally it’s in the millions rather than thousands, and the more gullible victims have been stung two or three times by the same person, as the accident/incident is further exaggerated, thus requiring more money to settle matters.

But yesterday a woman in her 40’s got swindled in perhaps the most daring “it’s me” scam to date. The naïve lady got a call from her son who is a member of the Japanese Self-Defense Force (SDF). With the man claiming that, “I was driving a tank and crashed into an SDF facility wall. I want you to deposit over 1 million yen into my account today to pay for it.”

Yes, you read that right. He’d supposedly crashed his tank, and he had to pay for the damages! Yet however unbelievable that sounds, the woman promptly paid the money, no questions asked.

Police investigators were unsurprisingly shocked by the crime. Presumably at both the boldness of the criminals involved, and the gullible nature of the duped mother. One official rather understatedly said, “We’ve never heard of fraud saying that a self-defense official has crashed a tank.”

No, I bet they haven’t.

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Conservative coalition

Whilst the nation shakes its head in disbelief, its leader celebrates. As judging by his recent comments, the Prime Minister is a happy man indeed this evening.

“I don’t want to interfere with another country’s election but since I’m well-acquainted with President Bush, I want him to carry on.”

So for Mr. Koizumi, it looks like a celebratory reservation of a table for one.

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Earthquake images

Saturday’s earthquakes in Niigata seem to have been comprehensively covered, but with more aftershocks felt earlier today, I feel compelled to post a few pictures I came across this morning.

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These were the worst quakes to hit Japan since the Kobe disaster in 1995. Now obviously these things aren’t quite so simple, but it would be nice to think that the weekend’s events mean that the much talked about big one will be further delayed. And if we are lucky, for an indefinite time period.

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Bulging Bobby

Chess renegade Bobby Fischer (who is in an Ushiku detention centre while he fights a deportation order issued August 24th) has countered claims in Time magazine that as a fugitive he “might not sound like Mr. Right” to any potential love matches.

Alluding to the commonly held assumption that the possession of big feet means that a certain other body part is of equally enlarged proportions, boastful Bobby declared, “I wear size 14 wide shoes. Just keep that in mind when you say I’m not a dreamboat, or not Mr. Right.”

And if that wasn’t enough confirmation that he is more king than pawn, the chess champion recalled a visit he made to a public onsen (bath). A tale that he was at great pains to point out is entirely true.

Miyoko Watai, Fischer’s chess playing fiancé, was waiting in the lobby for her well-hung hero, when she heard two men commenting on an enormous member they had seen on a fellow bather. Then when Fischer himself strutted out, the two men apparently pointed at big boy bobby and said, “Hey, it’s him.” An incident that Fischer claimed was very embarrassing for his fiancé. Although perhaps not as embarrassing as having the tale retold to the assembled media.

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The future Mrs. Fischer eyeing up the goods yesterday.