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Although more known for the car company, Toyota City in Aichi Prefecture is also a place of sublime beauty. This city is home to the Senmi Shikizakura no Sato, a rare place in Japan which has cherry blossoms that bloom in both the spring and autumn, which means you can see pink sakura against a natural backdrop of crimson leaves.
It’s this location of pure natural wonder that makes a recent crime even more heinous. On the afternoon of May 6, a man was out enjoying the splendor of Senmi Shikizakura no Sato when his own brand of nature called and sent him to a nearby public toilet.
However, after having taken care of business he found that is was impossible to flush the toilet. Unable to see any lever, he may have assumed that it was a faulty motion sensor or that the toilet was clogged by a previous user, so he contacted the local tourism association to report it.
An investigation was launched and found that the toilet was in order but its flushing lever, valued at 20,000 yen had been stolen. A search of the surrounding area also revealed that a sprinkler faucet worth about 10,000 yen had also been pilfered.
A park rep told media, “I don’t think these items can be stolen without tools. I want patrols of the area to be strengthened.” They added that the men’s room would have to be closed for the time being, but a multipurpose restroom was still available.
Meanwhile, readers of the news were also appalled at this barbaric act.
“What has this country come to?”
“This is just ugly.”
“It’s theft, vandalism, and being a public nuisance!”
“Looks like the work of a pro too.”
“There ought to be a death penalty for something like that.”
“Wait a minute… A toilet lever costs 20,000 yen!?”
Yes, it would seem the thief was quite cunning in knowing the true value of a toilet’s flusher thing. Surely it would fetch a high price on the toilet black market somewhere. But worse than all this is the blatant cold-blooded disregard for one’s fellow man.
- Source: Mainichi Shimbun, My Game News Flash*
Read more stories from SoraNews24.
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-- 64-year-old man arrested for stealing a roll of toilet paper from hospital toilet
- External Link
- https://soranews24.com/2022/05/09/aichi-police-on-lookout-for-scoundrel-who-stole-public-toilets-flushing-handle/
39 Comments
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factchecker
Red light runners? Texting while driving? Idiots on bikes breaking every traffic rule? No! The cops priority is a missing toilet handle. Ffs what a joke they are.
starpunk
Who would want to steal one of those things anyway?
SDCA
If just a handle costs 20,000 yen, no wonder we don't see many public restrooms.
Pukey2
The amount of germs on that handle.
Rodney
I’ve been to many combini stores where they write their name on toilet paper rolls to try to stop them being stolen.
shogun36
A metal handle costs 20,000 yen………
And a few weeks ago they said to clean graffiti off of a train door would cost 80,000 yen.
Who is making up these budget estimates?
There’s your REAL criminal right there.
Not to mention whoever green lights that kind of public spending.
Paustovsky
Obviously the police are making inquiries but they’ve got nothing to go on.
Addfwyn
20,000 yen for that? I gotta get in on the toilet handle business, apparently that is where the real money is.
What's the full toilet cost? 1,000,000?
kurisupisu
To think that this makes news is amazing…
Ascissor
Pukey2
Be careful who you kiss
dagon
Aichi police on lookout for whoever stole public toilet’s flushing handle
Japan has so little property/street crime compared to other nations. And the Japanese police largely have a live and let live approach to organized and corporate crime and don't investigate it.
The J. police are in danger of disappearing up their own ***** in their quest to find more piddling crimes to justify their budgets and manpower.
Michael Machida
They are a collectors item. [ WTF?!]
Jonathan Prin
I just can't imagine the effort to disassemble then reassemble the flushing system, and keeping it watertight, all in a messy smelly environment.
You'd have to pay me far more than 20 000¥ to do it.
True that price of metal makes it more valuzble but I don't think there is much of a black market for that kind of spare part.
With that kind of article, beware everyone of copycats !
Alan Harrison
“There ought to be a death penalty for something like that.”
A little excessive, I think. Community payback is probably a more appropriate punishment.
englisc aspyrgend
Whoever they are I am sure they are flushed with success at their daring heist!
rainyday
This is the kind of thing that happens in my nightmares.
browny1
Such a handle could be easily removed in seconds and a plastic stopper screwed in.
The thief probably had an alternative use for the stainless steel handle.
With a little creativity it could be adapted for a number of things esp latches.
Same for the faucet. Seconds to remove. And a nice addition to the garden.
Petty pilfering not Crime of the Century stuff.
Chico3
Okay. There's something wrong with this on many levels. Who steals toilet flushing handles? Is this a new fetish? I really haven't seen everything.
Finder Keeper
Blame the media, not the police. The media chose to publish this.
Thunderbird2
Shame the police have nothing to go on...
Seriously though, this makes headline news? How many gangsters have squeezed money from shop owners? How many rapes have gone uninvestigated thanks to an envelope being passed? This is a crime, yes, and it inconveniences people... but to reported like this?
What next? Child's arm stuck in capsule toy machine while trying to get last Pikachu keyring without paying?
Lepyon
They need to get a handle on this crap before things go down the drain.
Mr Kipling
No, that's ¥20,000 for a professional plumber to come out with his van and tools to source and fit the new part. If this was a public works job the cost would be far, far higher.
Tom San
VN or CN?
Sven Asai
The good news is that those news are in the news. And the bad news is, although everyone is honest and there’s no crime, but at the end of the day all things that aren’t fixed have gone away like anywhere else too. lol
gogogo
Like anyone flushes anyway?
mariasjapan
WTF???
Peter14
starpunkToday 07:42 am JST
Police need to question local plumbers and toilet suppliers of the type that had its handle removed. Someone local has one installed at home and needed a replacement handle.
This may be a case for the FBI or PSIA or both working together to crack this case wide open. It's importance can not be underestimated. This is serious.
Peter14
Mr KiplingToday 08:59 pm JST
20000 yen, for a lever ?
I have to agree with Mr Kipling, the cost is no doubt the fitted replacement cost, not just the cost of the level itself. If not, then the full replacement cost could be double the figure shown.
TokyoLiving
How so safe is Japan, when a toilet's flushing handle is national news..
I love you Japan..
Please never change..
garypen
♫♫
Somebody stole the handle
Now the loo it won't start flushing
No way to go down
♫♫
from Locomotive Breath by Jethro Tull
purple_depressed_bacon
This is rather baffling. Does the Japanese police not have better and more important things to do than to chase after something as trivial as a stolen toilet flush handle? Also, who even goes round stealing toilet flush handles? What are they doing with it; preparing for an oddities museum of strange collections perhaps?
Khaos
20000 yen, for a lever ? That's a pretty expensive for a 3rd world toilet..
kaimycahl
I am sure the police can handle that!
Toshihiro
Let me guess, the perp must've been turned on by those flushers. We've read articles about people stealing bicycle seats, tennis rackets, work boots and even women's shoes because it turns them on. There's no evidence pointing to this in the article, but this is what I'm betting on. Another possibility is that they're stealing this to sell it. I've also read about people stealing guard rails on mountain roads and even umbrella stands. But seriously though, what has Japan gone to? I live in a poorer and rougher country, but nobody steals bathroom fixtures.
Aly Rustom
“Looks like the work of a pro too.”
Or the work of a poo?
“There ought to be a death penalty for something like that.”
WTF?!?!
YEP!!
excellent point!
Best post on this thread so far!