Odd

A man in Saitama lost his little finger on Sunday. But this was no gangster related incident involving tattoos and treachery. No, even stranger than men with punch perms cutting off their little fingers, is that 50-year-old Kazuhiko Kimura lost his digit to a wild boar whilst spending a quiet day at home.

Whether the front door was open or the animal simply barged its way in wasn’t disclosed, but the boar (which police suspect was a 150 kilogram 5 or 6-year-old male) unexpectedly burst into Kimura-san’s home. Then after charging through a ground floor corridor, the berserk beast arrived in the living room and bit off the unfortunate man’s little finger.

As Kimura writhed about in agony, the Boar ran around some more, and then finally left by jumping through a window and running off.

But as unfortunate as the event was, it could have been worse. Kimura’s elderly parents also live in the same house, but luckily they didn’t come into contact with the hostile hog.

Tokyo is a big and bustling city, so it’s not surprising that things get lost from time to time. Although judging from the figures just released by the Metropolitan Police Force, from time to time is probably something of an understatement. As last year 1.95 million unclaimed items were taken to the police.

Rather predictably the most common item was the humble umbrella, with 330,000 of them being handed in. More intriguing however was the staggering amount of unclaimed money. A whopping 2.4 billion yen (12,000,000 pound) in cash to be exact.

But one marked increase on the previous year was the amount of abandoned animals. The total number was 154, an increase of 42 from 2003. And even more bizarre is that turtles of all things topped the list, with 28 of them currently doing whatever turtles do in police stations across the capital. Other left behind animals included chickens, rabbits, and ferrets.

And I always thought that the ubiquitous branded bag that many Japanese walk around with was simply to hold make-up, magazines, and a mobile. Apparently not…

An unemployed man was arrested yesterday for attempting to rob a convenience store on January 25th.

Using a bit of common sense, 31-year-old Takashi Ishimitsu wisely decided to don a disguise before attempting the robbery. But rather than wearing a simple mask or balaclava, Ishimitsu-san got kitted out in a full monkey suit. An outfit that admittedly concealed his identity, but at the same time wasn’t exactly what you’d call inconspicuous.

And to add insult to injury, Ishimitsu-san left the store empty handed. Even though he was armed with a knife, his comedy outfit didn’t exactly instill fear in his victim. As the staff member on duty calmly alerted his manager, causing the costume clad culprit to flee.

An unemployed woman already facing charges of arson, was hit with another arrest warrant yesterday. This time for trying to burn down the apartment complex where she lives.

The new charge accuses 30-year-old Hisako Kasahara with attempted arson of an inhabited building, as the fire-loving female set fire to a cloth covering a washing machine on the second-floor of the complex. Fortunately however she only succeeding in burning part of the roof, and none of the other residents were injured. Although a few of them did suffer mild smoke inhalation.

During questioning Kasahara-san admitted to the allegations, explaining her behaviour with a unique brand of twisted logic. “I was having trouble paying rent. I thought I wouldn’t have to pay it if the entire apartment complex burnt down.”

A statement that contains an element of truth. I suppose.