87-year-old man robbed of Y5 mil he carried everywhere

This is sad.

serves him right

What do you expect!!! Only himself to blame..

with that much money he could have tried his luck in last month's election like that 94 year old man :)

That was an inside job. Most likely one of his friends or relatives needed some cash and he was an easy target.

That was an inside job. Most likely one of his friends or relatives needed some cash and he was an easy target.

Exactly, he didn't leave it at home because there was someone at home he didn't trust. In reality, a car is more likely to be burglarized than a house.

To say he deserves to be robbed is dumb, I don't wish that on anybody.

he does not trust anybody, not even banks. He carry the money around. Am I the ony one who think his foolishness deserves ridicule? A fool and his money will soon part ways.

Am I the ony one who think his foolishness deserves ridicule?

When you are 87, ask again...

This is sad.

Sorry, but this is stupid, not sad! WTF is an elderly gent doing carrying 50 grand with him? It is sad that he lost his retirement fund, but.......

What is going on in this country???

I still remember when Japan used to be one of the safest countries in the world... During my first trip in Japan, I had forgotten my expensive camera on a bench and I still found it there, 2 hours later. Many people were passing by but nobody though to take it for himself. At that time, I thought to myself that Japan is full of law abiding citizens... Unfortunately, Japan is changing into a typical western country. This is really sad.

DudeDeuceJan. 01, 2013 - 11:22AM JST

That was an inside job. Most likely one of his friends or relatives needed some cash and he was an easy target. Exactly, he didn't leave it at home because there was someone at home he didn't trust. In reality, a car is more likely to be burglarized than a house.

I agree. Breaking into someone's car is a high-risk, low-reward thing in Japan. At best you'd normally get someone's purse with maybe 10 000 yen in it and some CDs. If you look at the type of robberies in Japan they're normally places like combinis where there's a lot of money.

No, this person knew the old man very well, they knew the money was there, and they knew where he was going to be.

Before anyone chimes in that he should have put it in a bank or something just remember that in Japan all the greedy relative would have needed to do was steal his inkan for a couple of hours, pop down to the bank and withdraw it all. This isn't like western countries where a signature is required. In Japan it's REALLY hard to secure money against families.

I have a friend who was going through a very messy divorce, and her husband withdrew all her money from her accounts by the simple expedient of taking her inkan one morning while she was sleeping, going down to the bank and getting the account closed over the counter, and then leaving her and their baby with just the money she had in her wallet.

poor old codger paranoid and carrying his money around with him like a security blanket.

who knows if it was an inside job? I would think if they knew him they wouldn't pitch the bag in a nearby park (where it would be found and they could be suspected). sounds like somebody rushing off and grabbing the money on the run. but who knows...

It's bad enough that this guy didn't have the smarts to leave his money in a bank, but to leave it in a rucksack in an unattended car is downright stupid. It's unfortunate, but this guy brought it upon himself.

Sad, but you have to know that carrying that much cash around is going to make you a target. And you don't leave a bag in the car in visible view, either, which it probably was.

This is so wrong on so many levels, I don´t know where to start

Stupid old guy.

Clearly a guy who had more money than he needed. They really should pass a law that says that people receiving public pension money keep all their money in certified banks. I hope that nobody ever gives this guy more money than absolutely necessary for food, clothing, medical, and housing expenses, as a warning to others doing the same thing. The ultimate victims here are those that will end up paying his expenses due to his stupidity.

Readers, please stop insulting the victim.

DudeDeuceJan. 01, 2013 - 11:22AM JST Exactly, he didn't leave it at home because there was someone at home he didn't trust. In reality, a car is more likely to be burglarized than a house. To say he deserves to be robbed is dumb, I don't wish that on anybody.

I did not say he deserved to be robbed, I said he was an easy target. Do you see the difference? Wow.

Somehow I doubt he was ever going to spend the money. He will get by without it.

I suspect he probably was targetted, but I find the "he deserved it for being stupid" posts distasteful. Only on JT do I see examples of poor judgement by the elderly regularly depicted as something worthy of punishment rather than sympathy.

Ah_soJan. 01, 2013 - 06:07PM JST

I see examples of poor judgement by the elderly regularly depicted as something worthy of punishment rather than sympathy.

The loss is punishment enough and nobody has said it wasn't (given no compensation for that loss), however, careless actions should not be met with sympathy (or payment). The issue isn't this one man, rather the fact that he is one of many, and that as long as people refuse to admit that the hidden cash piles elderly folks have is an issue, you'll keep seeing more of these victims. Japan hasn't had major bank issues that normally push people to very risky moves like keeping massive amounts of cash (which can be stolen, burned in a fire, thrown out to sea in a tsunami, or simply forgotten), so there's no explaining away this dangerous behavior that plagues older generations. Sympathy simply will increase the number of victims.

I'm with Probie.

Putting 5 million yen back into the economy is a lot better than having it in a sack.

5 million thumbs down "couldn't care less"

Wonder why he couldn't trust the banks....

Yes it is true, taking large amounts of money like that out of circulation does hurt the economy. And I am not putting the man down.

Sorry for the old guy. Were there any surveillance cameras in that area that could lead the police to the robber? The police should watch the spending habits of his friends and neighbors for a while and see what pops up.

I would not be surprised if his own kids, grand kids knew he was carrying around so much cash and they said, hey it is time for my OTOSHIDAMA, and helped themselves to the cash. The J police should use this old guy as a poster boy to other old folk who have the same idea of carrying around cash, so they do not end up like this old poor man.

He should have kept it somewhere safe - like under his futon. Poor old fella.

If he truly carried the knapsack "everywhere", then he'd still have his money. To be so careful that you don't trust banks is a personal choice, but to then just leave the money lying unattended is very suspicious of someone who is supposedly so careful. I'm smelling a dead red herring.

Yeah, I've seen cases of criminals deliberately go after houses where elderly live, because they know that these people keep their money and savings at home instead of depositing them at a bank (where they would be safer than in a bag under the bed).

Why insult the man? When you are 87 years old, your brain does not work the same way as a young person's. He may have had a medical issue affecting him and his judgement. Many people that age have other people assist them in banking, money affairs and the like.

I had an elderly relative who always walked around with a large sum of money....he fell and was injured and the attending police advised him not to carry around sums of cash like that....He continued to do so....