Turkey deports Japanese man for eating cats

Police say the man was detained and fined the equivalent of 130,000 yen after he admitted to killing and eating five kittens caught in the neighborhood. He is currently at an immigration facility awaiting deportation.

I'll nominate this as a story that will never get into the NHK morning news.

Turkish food is soooo delicious, especially with that dill yoghurt sauce, it makes no sense at all to eat cats while one is in Turkey.

This news broke about two days ago and the on-site TV broadcast showed how the neighbors were outraged. The Turkish authorities reported that the Japanese man said in fluent Turkish that Japan has a culture of eating cats; has, not the past tense had. This guy will be deported back to Japan but the police here had better put his sorry butt into a hospital and then track his butt everywhere he goes. Quoting from a famous artist, "There's a killer on the road, his head is squirming like a toad..."

Apparently, in the Middle East, the tradition of revering cats goes back thousands of years. According to translated records, anyone caught mistreating a cat in Ancient Egypt would have been instantly put to death by a mob.

n1k1

Come to think of it, there aren't many stray cats on the streets in Tokyo. I always wondered why

Plenty of stray cats in Tokyo. But no, if you look for them in the middle of the street, you probably see few.

Turkish food is soooo delicious, especially with that dill yoghurt sauce, it makes no sense at all to eat cats while one is in Turkey.

Yes, Turkish foods are delicious but too bad those food just couldn't satisfied that Japanese man taste.

Sick and disgusting.

"1glenn"

""Apparently, in the Middle East, the tradition of revering cats goes back thousands of years.""

Yes, love and respect for cats among Muslims and the middle east population goes back to the days of the Profit Muhammed.

The story I heard is that he once the Profit was preforming a prayer then a cat came next to him and started to give birth on top of his clothes or what is called Jalabiya, he then provided care and comfort to the mother and cut out the part of his cloth that the cat was resting on so she is NOT disturbed while giving birth. and so from that point on many Muslims believe that cats are blessed because the Profit Muhamad touched them with his own hands.

The same thing happened back in the 70's when some Vietnamese Immigrants captured and ate cats in Orange County California at first arrival, but then they learned that it is illegal and as far as I know it stopped.

I do not think it is legal now in Japan to eat cats??? but if and when he returns keep and eye on him.

I feel repulsed at the idea of eating dog or cat meat and even whale but is that any worse than all the other animals people eat including rats.

It was the idea of cow meat, hen meat, pig meat or sheep meat being no different from dog or cat meat that finally turned me vegetarian.

The idea of deliberately hurting or killing any living being for one's own pleasure (whether it's the 'thrill' of the hunt, pleasure gained from watching the animal suffer, or pleasure gained from eating its flesh) is one I find repulsive.

Killing and eating baby cats?? This person is sick. If he is sent back to Japan he needs to be locked up where he cannot harm himself or others, and given the appropriate treatment to restore his mental health. And if it cannot be restored, then just keep him locked up.

I have to say, some of the posters here sound like imperialistic hypocrites from the Empire. Would these people go out and catch little piggies or would they just leave that job to the slaughterhouses? What's the difference between a cat, pig, cow, rabbit or your own pet? Muslims and Hindus would be disgusted at what some westerners eat, so please don't act so high and mighty unless you are, at the very least, a vegetarian.

Well said, Kaoru Mugen, and Cleo (even though the dairy industry does no favours to the cows).

So tired of this hypocritical BS.

There wouldn't be much meat on a new born kitten. Carnivorous animals are said to be not tasty. Perhaps he plans to write a cook book on his return to Japan. All very odd, if true, there could well be some mental health issues here.

“… thousands of stray cats…” is hardly evidence of any particular fondness for the animals.

The Turkish authorities reported that the Japanese man said in fluent Turkish that Japan has a culture of eating cats; has, not the past tense had.

What? I have never heard anything like that. Does he refer to China?

I realized that the feeling aroused in me when reading this story, any story teaching of abuse to those who trust us, is very much like what I've felt when reading about Human cannibalism. I'm pleased with that and have no embarrassment in the emotion despite it being what some might consider a misplaced emotion for "dumb animals". Thinking about it, I find that much of my feeling is due to the, for me, stunning violation of the trust of us we have forced upon these, our faithful companions. We parasitize almost EVERY other creature on this planet. Must we also parasitize those few who give us joy and unthinking service also? Must we have those among us who murder our loved ones such as this man will be when deported back? Will young women be perhaps this person's next stage of pathological development? Can we not develop the idea of a 'registry' for these 'serial killers in training'? ANYONE who can ignore the stress displays of a kitten or puppy in extremis lacks, seriously lacks, a quality which most of have innately and, in my mind, is prima facie evidence of clinical psychopathy and warrants that this person be incarcerated for life as a greater danger to children than a serial pedophile. I HATE this story...

What happened was one guy was arrested then it got in the news that what he was doing was perfectly legal so a whole bunch of people decided it was Free pigeon for the taking.

Since pigeons are not native to Japan or North America and they are tantamount to flying rats, a big nuisance in aviation (pigeons in aircraft hangers damage aircraft with their droppings) I have no problem with people eating pigeons. I would not, the idea makes me want to wretch, but if someone has a taste for pigeon and it isn't somebody's pet or courier pigeon I see no harm.

Seems to re-inflame some overall, wrongfully stereotypical depictions of some Asian ‘delicacies’

wrongfully stereotypical depictions ? LOL.

If I may, I would like to use this story as a way to relate a story that I heard a long time ago.

When I was much younger, I had many conversations with a man who was born in the 19th century. One of the things he told me was that when he was just a boy, he had a conversation with what is called in this country a "mountain man." They were among the first Europeans to explore the American West, back in the early 1800s. The Mountain Man told the story that the best tasting meat he had ever tried was....drum roll please....mountain lion.

I have never myself tasted a cat, or mountain lion, and have no intention of doing so, but his story that the large cat tasted wonderful has stuck with me.

Serial killers start with kittens.

Might be a good idea to get him treated, he sounds like a sick man!!!!

Plenty of stray cats in Tokyo. But no, if you look for them in the middle of the street, you probably see few.

He is being deported ! don't give him ideas

Probably just an excuse to lighten the sentence like the drunk/don't remember anything excuse used here.

I've eaten dog a few times, both in China and Korea, just to see what it was like (tastes like goat). This was to experience local culinary culture, and whether I ate it or not really had no effect on the dog population - if I hadn't eaten it, somebody else would have. Snatching a cat off the street is a different story. Not only might it have been someone's pet, it also could be a vector for disease. SARS and Corona both came from bush meat.

Why is the media ‘here’ highlighting this type of uncommon case? 

It seems likely to inflame and perpetuate, both ‘here and abroad,’ some overall, wrongfully stereotypical-depictions of some Asian cultures and their individual choices of ‘food’ sources.

Perhaps because it is spectacular, true and specific to Asia. Also the likely reason for the current pandemic.

I've eaten dog a few times, both in China and Korea, just to see what it was like (tastes like goat)

and

Snatching a cat off the street is different story

It is different but just because we haven't established whether or not he did it to stay alive.

Why is the media ‘here’ highlighting this type of uncommon case? 

Because there are not a few psychos like this guy working in media

Always found it highly interesting how people completely flip out about someone eating a cat or dog, calling them psychos, disturbed, sick etc. Meanwhile, they casually eat some meat from one of the tens of thousands of chickens, pigs or cows that get slaughtered every single day.

Double standards much? Either everyone who's not vegetarian is a psycho, or you're a hypocrite. Which one is it?

Cats are helpful against pest, and even birds when too many

Let them be and play their part in the animal kingdom.

One very sick individual, but obviously not representative in any way of Japanese people or culture. Just look at the popularity of cat cafes - where they are stroked, not eaten!! - to see how much the Japanese love cats. I agree with some of the other comments here that maybe he needs a psychiatric evaluation.

Cats are helpful against pest, and even birds when too many

I don't have data to verify this claim one way or the other but there are many naturalists who claim outdoor pet cats decimate native bird populations and feel strongly that cat owners should keep their cats indoors at all times. Bird populations are mostly in decline all over the world so there is little need to control them.

Desert Tortoise

I don't have data to verify this claim one way or the other but there are many naturalists who claim outdoor pet cats decimate native bird populations and feel strongly that cat owners should keep their cats indoors at all times. Bird populations are mostly in decline all over the world so there is little need to control them.

Where cats are not native, that is absolutely true. Cats are are natural-born killers (the reason they were domesticated in the first place), and can decimate local populations of birds and other small animals. Check out what happened to Lyalls wren on Stephens island.

Come to think of it, there aren't many stray cats on the streets in Tokyo. I always wondered why

Freak

"Asians eat cats" is a typical stereotype, so he must have played it up.

@Mark, "profit" is a capitalist term.

"Prophet" is the normal, English spelling. Maybe the smartphone's autocomplete function is not so smart after all.

I honestly can't believe this guy is Japanese, this is not something anyone in Japan does and there is no tradition of eating cats in Japan.

But it does remind me of back home when the police were called to a large park because some people were catching pigeons putting them in bags.

Turned out this was going on all around the city as certain immigrants from Eastern Europe and middle East were catching and eating them.

And the strangest part was there was no law against it.

What happened was one guy was arrested then it got in the news that what he was doing was perfectly legal so a whole bunch of people decided it was Free pigeon for the taking.

Not sure if the laws were ever changed.

Pigs have been known to kill and eat their farmers. 

I’m a pacifist but if I were a pig destined from birth to imprisonment on a diet of slops followed by a one-way trip to the abattoir, I think I’d feel pretty antagonistic towards the person keeping me confined.

People do keep pigs, chickens, rabbits etc as pets.

The cats this monster killed and ate were not anyone’s pets. Doesn’t make him any less of a sad sicko.

Sick at the least, I hope he serves sometime in jail for animals cruelty , 5 years will do and a fine of 500,000JPY, he is lucky to be alive, I know for a fact that other countries animal lovers would have had him canned by now.

It is Japan's neighbor countries where they eat dogs or anything. Japanese didn't/don't have such culture.

Yeah right ..

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/japanese-lawmakers-call-for-international-agreement-to-prohibit-the-eating-of-dogs-and-cats-301186692.html

Kenzo Fujisue, member of the Parliamentary League for Animal Welfare, is the main leading lawmaker of the request letter. During the meeting with Katsunobu Kato, the Chief Cabinet Secretary of Japan, Mr. Fujisue explained the dog and cat meat situation on the domestic and international level, "There are over 100 dog meat restaurants in Japan. The United States, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Shenzhen, China have all established a ban on dog and cat meat; a similar trend can also be seen in the United Kingdom. To not fall behind on the international scene, Japan should outlaw dog and cat meat and initiate the International Agreement to Prohibit the Eating of Dogs and Cats." If Japan bans the consumption of dog and cat meat before hosting the Olympics in 2021, the country's international image would be improved extensively.

Hmmm...

Sick at the least, I hope he serves sometime in jail for animals cruelty , 5 years will do and a fine of 500,000JPY, he is lucky to be alive, I know for a fact that other countries animal lovers would have had him canned by now.

He will be free and back in Istanbul for more

This guy needs to be watched carefully. Animal abuse can be a first step to more severe crimes.

I mean even if this is culture and what have you. It is still very dangerous because it actually involves close proximity handling of an alive also dead animal by an individual with knives that obviously isn't very educated and could lead to another potentially deadly virus jump.

cleo

It was the idea of cow meat, hen meat, pig meat or sheep meat being no different from dog or cat meat that finally turned me vegetarian.

Actually, it is very different. Predator animals eat prey animals in the wild all the time, they have to. That is how nature works. And that is why it is completely natural for us to eat prey animals too; it is completely defensible as long as they are raised and killed ethically.

Predator animals is a different matter. They are not meant to be eaten and they can not be raised economically.

Killing cats and eating them what a low life. Are they sure he is not Chinese or Korean. They have the custom of eating cats not Japanese. If Japanese he should be sent to prison.

It was the idea of cow meat, hen meat, pig meat or sheep meat being no different from dog or cat meat that finally turned me vegetarian.

I'm comfortable eating beef, chicken, pork or lamb. None of those animals are going to be my companion and share my home like our doggies do. I generally love animals have a particular dislike of chickens and pigs. Pigs have been known to kill and eat their farmers. Not often but every so often it happens.

so from that point on many Muslims believe that cats are blessed because the Profit Muhamad touched them with his own hands.

In Asia apparently they are just protein

Hmm ... https://www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat-39577557

The Turks should explicitly put signs like "Please don't eat stray cats or dogs" .

As is, I think it might be very confusing for most of Asians.

Asking this again from @7:11am (for a reason):- “Why is the media ‘here’ highlighting this type of uncommon case? It seems likely to inflame and perpetuate, both ‘here and abroad,’ some overall, wrongfully stereotypical-depictions of some Asian cultures and their individual choices of ‘food’ sources.

Case in point:

- @12:55pm: “What? I have never heard anything like that. Does he refer to China?”- [responding to: “Turkish authorities reported the Japanese man said in fluent Turkish that Japan has a culture of eating cats; has, not the past tense had.] -

Thanks again, media for the helping(?) with a global understanding of Asian peoples’ lives, here and abroad. - “Read more stories [like this] from SoraNews24!”

With all kinds of media suppression and prevalent censorship recently, Why is the media being allowing THiS? - Seems to re-inflame some overall, wrongfully stereotypical depictions of some Asian ‘delicacies’. Regardless, “kittens”?!? - Sick. Sick. Sick.

The Turkish authorities reported that the Japanese man said in fluent Turkish that Japan has a culture of eating cats; has, not the past tense had. This guy will be deported back to Japan but the police here had better put his sorry butt into a hospital and then track his butt everywhere he goes.

It is Japan's neighbor countries where they eat dogs or anything. Japanese didn't/don't have such culture.

When this psycho is back and treated at hospital, he should stripped of his naturalization.