79-year-old man arrested for blocking street with garbage in Saitama

Eh, police probably didn't intervene because they expected him to eventually clean it up himself. You know, they were probably saying "Be a good big boy and clean it up yourself. You're not going to like it if we end up cleaning it."

Do you guys see that sign? Thats... ironical. I betcha it says "No dumping".

of course saitama is gonna make the news more than other places, it's one of the most densily populated prefectures in Japan, get a clue people.

I think there's a difference between trash and garbage. That looks like trash to me. But then, He and I are the same age.

squatters rights: He has laid claim to the sidewalk and the Gov did nothing since "95." Since posession is 9/10 of the law I would tell the court I believe the sidewalk is mine and not pay the fine.

With all the financial turmoil it's nice to see the little guy win one and a little humor at the same time. How does he even know if all that crap is his and not just others piling their junk on also?

He's 79 yrs old. He probably thinks it's still 1940. I am going to vote for him for president.

why? oh why? hast thou forsaken thee SSSSAAAIITTAAMMAAA!!

Have a yard/alley sale. Or a flea market weekend. Anyway, classic. The geezers, are very sentimetal...like me. lol

"The Mountain????" This doesn't even live up to being called a hill. It is sure gross though. Since "1995" and now they've decided to arrest him. Geez, they could have resolved this issue long before it got to this.

so since they arrested him (for only up to 3 months) are they going to empty his trash as well, or simply leave it up to him and the honor system.

hopefully they take a bull-dozer / tractor of some sort and a large trash truck (or two) and just pile everything in there and take it to a hidden trash depot.

i wonder if collecting items / trash is not only this old man's favorite pass-time, but his life as well?

Saitama is back on the charts again, its been a long few days

and I thought my place was a mess ;P

He should have just put up a sign that said "Recycling Shop"! 13 years huh? Thats got to be a police response record!

that kind of place is just asking for arson. I've seen a lot of hoarders in this country.

Hoarders are everywhere, it is a real problem for some people. They feel so attached to everything they own that they just cant bring themselves to throw it away. This person may need some treatment rather than jail time.

this is another aspect of Jpn that drives me nuts, surely local by-laws shud take care of these kind of situations but it always appears there is no law being broken so nothing is done, these gomi collectors & the nutbars who make a racket & nothing the authorities can do its lame.

There is a jerk near me that keeps somehwere between 12-20dogs in cages its an extremely sad situation & there is nothing you can do, the dogs seem to disappear & new ones arrive & on & on it goes

I like Jpn but there way too much stuff that goes on that shudnt be too hard to fix/deal with that just gets ignored & it pisses me off

Is it just me or is anyone else just a little bewildered as to why it took the "police" 13 years to take action against this guy? Talk about patient neighbours.

S

He should have claimed it was a shop. There's lots of little shops filled to the rafters with junk like that.

Honestly I love my neighbors, really. It looks a little like their porch though.

Saitama again! What a place.

The so-called "gomi yashiki" deserves to be treated as a form of urban art and we would all be poorer if they were to become extinct. I used to go a couple of blocks out of my way to walk past one, just to investigate what imaginative new treasures its owner had added of late. Truly a hallowed Japanese institution.

If this exhibition is going and growing since 1995, why nothing had been was for 13 years

I don't have an answer for that. Started drinking a bit early.

If this exhibition is going and growing since 1995, why nothing had been was for 13 years. He is an elderly and he needs help. What will arrest prove for this aged man? Isn't there any other way to find a solution, or there a uniform standard of Japan only arresting people and lock them up. It just proves how big respect for elderly is.

Well, its been a while since Saitama was in the news...

While I can understand the proverb-like 'one person's trash is another's...'...err... I forget the end part, but you know what I mean. What I CAN'T understand is people like this, and you can find at least a couple dozen in every medium sized city, let alone how many must be in LARGE cities. They don't always pour out onto the street, but still. What the hell is wrong with these people?

He needs something like this: http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=RkdmMFA1zQg

According to police, the man, who has not been named, has repeatedly piled up garbage in front of his house since 1995

Ha ha! That's a long 13 years for any neighbour that stayed. Just dispose of those celebratory wine bottles in an appropriate fashion.

Blocking street? from picture it appears that street is clear of any obstacles (as good as Highway), may be picture has different angel?

The man told police it wasn’t garbage and that he was still using a lot of the items.

my remocon must somewhere here

There are so many mentally ill people in Japanese who are not getting treated.

he's 79, so probably has some serious mental issues. and surely no relatives who care about his situation.

The place has got to be stacked floor to ceiling with garbage as well, look at the windows. I've noticed signs at train stations advertising clean-up services for people with this hoarding sickness.

nice pictures. I don't understand how you can keep your garbage.