Sometimes a crime appears in the news where you just know there’s way more crazy stuff going on beneath the surface, and this is one such story. It takes place in the sunny Yaeyama Islands, a remote archipelago that’s much closer to Taiwan than Japan with the largest island being Ishigaki.
At about 4 a.m. on Sept 8, a completely naked man walked into a convenience store in Ishigaki City. He bought a pair of underwear and immediately put them on. After making his purchase, he left the store and walked to a bicycle parking lot about 250 meters away. There he stole a scooter and helmet.
Then, at about 4:30 a.m., the same man returned to the same convenience store, still wearing nothing but his new underwear and riding the stolen scooter. Police picked him up there and after some questioning arrested him for driving under the influence as his blood alcohol content was found to be four times the legal limit.
A subsequent investigation was launched and he was arrested again on Sept 20 for public nudity and theft. The suspect is denying both charges, claiming that he doesn’t remember because he was drunk.
Unfortunately, if he’s telling the truth, this also means he probably doesn’t remember what happened between convenience store visits, what happened before that resulted in his nakedness, or how he managed to hot-wire a scooter in his condition. And so, online comments could only imagine.
“So, where did he keep his money?”
“Did he only buy underwear?”
“Maybe he did the Terminator time travel thing.”
“There’s so much going on here I don’t know where to start.”
“I wonder how the store clerk handled that situation.”
“He should space out his crimes a bit more.”
“This feels like a mission from a yakuza game.”
“I think all things considered some socks would be a better investment when walking outside.”
“He seems to live by a code, but I don’t know what it is.”
Source: Ryukyu Shimpo, Itai News
Read more stories from SoraNews24.
-- Yakuza member arrested for not picking up dog poop
-- Gifu man arrested for entering other person’s home and hanging women’s underwear to dry
-- Tokyo man arrested for stealing women’s “treasures” and other general creepiness
- External Link
- https://soranews24.com/2023/09/26/naked-ishigaki-man-arrested-after-buying-underwear-and-stealing-scooter-while-drunk/
26 Comments
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didou
Those islands are part of Japan. Should’nt be written Mainland Okinawa, Kyushu, Honshu etc…..
TaiwanIsNotChina
Do they have video of him naked? Otherwise he should claim it is a "he said, he said" situation.
Ken Holcomb
That would have been my 1st question too.
Keepyer Internetpoints
Alcohol is a hell of a drug.
Zaphod
Got to love a country where this is headline news
opheliajadefeldt
My dog, you cannot make this stuff up can you.......or maybe you can? But then, it is so common place in my country, I mean, I see every day, men and women being naked whilst shopping, it happens in the UK too......lol! Also I do not think I have ever read a story about a person being 4 times over the legal limit of alcohol, but then, I seldom if ever come across drunks or go into bars, so what do I know, it could be quite common.
virusrex
The incident is interesting enough, but the imaginative online comments are the best part.
borscht
I wonder how many crimes are dismissed by the police and a sucking on teeth because the culprit ‘couldn’t remember’ committing the crime.
Police: You were drunk. You stole a car. You caused an accident. You injured three people.
Culprit: I don’t remember. I was drunk.
Police: Oh, well okay then. There’s nothing we can do. You’re free to go. Have a nice day.
Culprit: Hey! This isn’t my beautiful home.
smithinjapan
Yeah, first thing I was wondering is how he was holding onto the money as well. Kudos for him spending money to cover up after walking in naked, at least, instead of just buying more booze.
Fredrik
Being drunk is used as an excuse, not only for comitting crimes, but also for behaving liker a p*g in public spaces. I can't count the number of times I have been physically assaulted by drunks here in Japan. And, I know a few people killed by intoxicated drivers. And yet, alcohol is not only legal, but they even sell it on the trains!
Strangerland
Well, not even for committing crimes. Being drunk does not get one criminally excused for their crimes in Japan, no matter how many times foreigners repeat it online.
Joe Unc
Fancy a drink ?
virusrex
I am curious about the value of the land in Ishigaki, friends from Miyako complained recently that people from outside the islands are buying a lot of properties this year, so local can't no longer afford the prices.
garypen
There's nothing wrong with it being legal. The problem in Japan is the lack of education regarding the dangers of alcohol; the lack of awareness and treatment for alcoholism; and, especially the way it is culturally promoted. The whole concept of nomikai, and the way it is promoted and considered part of normal working culture, is most definitely to blame for a lot of the alcohol-related problems here.
shogun36
These naked horror stories are always men, people no one wants to see.
Where are the women versions of these incidents?
Redemption
Naked man is in a lot of trouble now!
Coulda been
Police are endeavouring to discover the bare facts of the case.
Did he go back to return the underwear?
Did he say to the shop assistant, "does my bum look big in these?"
JeanValJean
Would this happen to be the old man who lived naked on one of the neighboring Yaeyama islands for ~30 years before due to his poor health he was "rescued" and relocated back to Ishigaki Island?
JeanValJean
https://nypost.com/2022/06/27/naked-hermit-who-lived-alone-for-29-years-says-farewell-to-remote-island/
Could it be this guy?
virusrex
Other sources say the suspect is a 24yo man from Tokyo, so that eliminates this possibility.
Desert Tortoise
Well, at least he bought the underwear instead of stealing ladies underwear from a clothes line or laundromat as we so often read about here O_o
One wonders where he was keeping the money he used to buy the underwear though /: