General

Somewhere in the region of 100 watches were stolen from a jewellery store in the city of Tokushima over the weekend. The hefty haul estimated at around 36 million yen (175,000 pound).

Now whilst such an incident is hardly uncommon, when the location of the shop is taken into consideration, it is probably enough to warrant at least a gentle raising of the eyebrows.

Using a stolen car to smash through the store’s metal shutters, one can confidently assume that the robbers made a fair bit of noise. A racket that would have been especially noticeable at 5 o’clock in the morning. Yet rather surprisingly, not loud enough to disturb the carefree coppers stationed nearby. Yes, just 100 metres from the scene of the crime is a police box, but the on-duty officers went on the record as saying they didn’t hear a thing.

Not a dicky bird.

For the past several years, annual suicides in Japan have exceeded the 30,000 mark. A frighteningly high figure, and one that the authorities are painfully aware of; but at the same time appear unable to reduce.

Now while not all of these unfortunate souls choose Aokigahara forest (or Sea of Trees) as the place to end their lives, a disturbingly large number do — usually somewhere between 50 to 100 people each year. The forest itself perhaps unexpectedly located at the foot of Japan’s most identifiable icon: the famous and fabulously beautiful Mount Fuji.

Whether this closeness to Fuji has any bearing on its ‘popularity’ isn’t clear, but the forest’s dense nature makes it ideal for those who really don’t want to be found. Providing the perfect location for them to fade away in a private and decidedly quiet manner.

This infamous aspect of Aokigahara means that recovery teams are regularly dispatched to comb the area for bodies, hoping to identify those that they find; allowing any next of kin an element of closure. According to Spa! magazine however, other, more unsavoury types might be getting there before them: grisly scavengers scouring the forest, hoping to find credit cards, valuables, and cold hard cash.

Yet not content with such hearsay, a reporter from the magazine claims to have taken it upon himself to explore the area, supposedly returning with a bounty that included several credit cards, a few valid rail passes, and perhaps more surprisingly, some commemorative coins.

*rough translation below

Yet this relatively easy (if ghoulish) sounding path to prosperity is countered somewhat by Ryo Kurihara, the author of a book related to Aokigahara. Kurihara-san claims such spoils aren’t so easy to come by, and a successful trip involves considerably more that just turning up and aimlessly ambling around:

“I’ve used a handheld GPS, transceivers, goods employing the latest scientific technology and loads of people helping me and managed to find 40 bodies in the forest. However, the largest amount of cash I’ve ever found on one has been 90,000 yen [450 pound]. I’ve also found some driver’s licenses, but most of them have been ruined by being exposed to the elements for so long, and it’d be risky to try and sell those ones that aren’t damaged. I’ve also found cards and other forms of ID.”

Not an insubstantial haul by any means, but hardly worth the considerable effort and cost. Plus lugging around such a large number of bodies could slow down proceedings considerably, creating all kinds of logistical problems. Yet despite Kurihara’s obvious experience in this area, rumours amongst locals tell of passing truck drivers stopping on their way through, boosting their salaries with a few festering finds. A practice that, if true, is a decidedly macabre take on the old maxim, ‘first come, first served’.

*Life is a gift you were given by your parents. Please think about them, the rest of your family, and any children you have. You don’t have to suffer by yourself, please give us a call (the Fuji Yoshida police counseling service) and talk to us.

Here are a few facts and figures that make for some interesting reading.

On average, Japanese husbands do 7 minutes housework a day. Wives on the other hand do considerably more, weighing in with a hefty 4 hours and 49 minutes. This according to the ‘housework sharing’ survey done in 2001. Plus, in regards to childcare, wives give up 1 hour and 48 minutes of their time. Men however only manage to squeeze in 13 minutes.

Outside the home, female employees get just 69 percent of what their male equivalents are paid. And according to a study done in July this year, 63 percent of Japanese companies had no plans to hire women.

In a World Economic Forum survey of 58 economies — both developed and emerging — Japanese women ranked 52nd for economic opportunity. Slightly better than in the area of political empowerment, where they only managed to sneak in at number 54.

Make of these numbers what you will.

Personally, I’ve printed out the housework stats and left them ‘casually’ on the table at home. I may not exactly be ‘Mr man about the house’, but those figures put me in model husband territory. Or at least in the vicinity.

The Health, Labour and Welfare Ministry supported the import of Propecia this week, the first orally taken hair-restoring agent to be approved in Japan.

It will go on prescription-only sale later in the year, with the only downside being that it may decrease the user’s libido. Potentially leaving floppy fringe fanatics with an equally malleable member.

A tough call for sure.