News at eight

Since about two weeks ago, I've been getting daily updates on what's happening in the Japanese news. It's rather shocking that I went 10 months in Japan without knowing more than the local weather report, but from living in SA, I know that your quality of life can be higher if you do not keep yourself updated with the news.

The news in Japan is different though -

The sad side is the suicides. Almost every day, there is news of family suicides, teenage suicides, group suicides. It's a popular way out. And in Japanese fashion, they seem to be on a mission to perfect the act. In this week's news, a 47-year old man killed his mother, then himself. Another bulletin featured a JR (Japan Rail) worker who left his suicide note on the platform before jumping in front of a bullet train in Osaka, screwing up the system for about 4 hours. The honorary award for creativity though, goes to a 50-year old man in Nagoya. He tied a rope around a tree, strung it through the back window of his car, tied it around his neck and hit the accelerator. Kinda like pulling a tooth, only bloodier.

That's the creepy side.

In other news, people have been giving away money.
In April, a man trew 57 10,000Yen bills from a bridge, in order to "vent frustration about work" (you get'em, tiger). Three months later, the man who did this strange crime was identified, and the police publicly requested the return of his money. So far, 47 of the 57 bills have been returned. The others probably haven't heard the request yet.

More recently, someone has been wrapping 10,000 Yen bills in white paper, and leaving it in municipal buildings. A few months ago, free money was popping up in cemetaries in Osaka and Hyogo. No one knows who is doing this, or why, but the money carries the message: "Please make use of this as a provision for ascetic practices".
So far, 545 bills have been found. And by that I mean returned to the police.

'Tis a strange country, this.