Shin-Osaka Station Photo: Wikipedia
national

JR Central employee overcharged foreigners for bullet train tickets

68 Comments

The requested article has expired, and is no longer available. Any related articles, and user comments are shown below.

© KYODO

©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.

68 Comments
Login to comment

Thief and racist ! Won't miss him.

17 ( +22 / -5 )

JR Central said it will not file a criminal complaint against the employee as the overcharged money has already been returned to the passenger who reported the incident.

What? The guy's a thief... he should be charged and properly punished. Firing him isn't enough.

28 ( +30 / -2 )

If JR Central doesn't want to look like is is covering up the actions of a racist and theiving employee it needs to go to the police and insist he is prosecuted. Refunding the passenger who complained is not enough.

26 ( +28 / -2 )

@ Luddite. That's right! I agree 100%. I you can do the crime. Do the time. Racist.

7 ( +11 / -4 )

I swear, only in Japan can you call a Japanese citizen a racist when people say he was targeting foreigners. Just think about it. Let it sink in. JR Central itself should be charged if they don't forward the crime to the police for charges. Thieves will be thieves so letting them walk without punishment sends the wrong message.

16 ( +17 / -1 )

them bullet trains tickets aint cheap... if the customers are rich enough to not care or not notice they paid for an extra ... then I reckon its totally fair play.

-33 ( +1 / -34 )

JR東海, how do you know if that passenger was the only one this ..rogue employee did that to?

It seems to me that you've not really bothered to investigate this in depth. Shin-Osaka station isn't exactly shy on foot traffic, so for all people know he could have been doing this to many customers, and for quite some time.

2 ( +4 / -2 )

PS: How do you know it's only the seven occasions as reported?

8 ( +8 / -0 )

overcharging foreign passengers who purchased shinkansen bullet train tickets at Shin-Osaka Station, on seven occasions this year.

returned to the passenger who reported the incident.

Ok so only 1 passenger was refunded out of 7, hmm and JR Central said it will not file a criminal complaint against the employee as the overcharged money has already been returned, hmm what about the other 6 passengers who were cheated by this employee, seems favoritism is at play regardless of his termination. He should be charged by the company for theft, extortion, and libel for image to the JR line. That's why it is important to learn the language and or keep receipts.

14 ( +15 / -1 )

How digusting. I assume that the police will want to interview him regarding this theft.

And I assume that he will be ordered to re-imberse the victims if at all possible.

If arrested, I assume bail/bond will automatically be denied, after all, he could leave the country.

0 ( +3 / -3 )

 fired a male employee who embezzled about 100,000 yen

But, no criminal charges? He's a thief, liar and a racist. He gave the money back and got fired, so the makes everything alright? I'm quite sure the outcome would have been very different if it was a foreigner ripping-off Japanese people.

6 ( +11 / -5 )

Again, a Japanese business letting crap go because the victim was a foreigner. I agree he should have been charged, but unfortunately the people who were ripped off are the only one's who can actually file a complaint.

How much does anyone want to bet that when paying the money back to the one customer who did complain, he never said he "stole" the money, nor did any JR employee either, just apologized for an over payment, and that they were "refunding" the difference.

9 ( +13 / -4 )

If you do not like it, why do not you file a complaint? Article 239 of Code of Criminal Procedure says that ANY person, if victim or not, can file a complaint to the public prosecutor or the police of a crime that the person knows happened.

7 ( +10 / -3 )

@Disillusioned... excellent comment!

1 ( +4 / -3 )

@Yubaru... exactly! They have probably done just as you mentioned!

2 ( +4 / -2 )

This makes you wonder how many duplicates there are of this JR worker who overcharged foreigners. JR does not seem overly distressed over the antics of this racist thief.

"JR Central said it will not file a criminal complaint against the employee as the overcharged money has already been returned to the passenger who reported the incident."

So what about the countless other foreigners who were ripped off? The hidden message is "they were only foreigners."

This guy is a thief. He violated the law. He should be under arrest and awaiting trial.

Too harsh? Think about the foreigners who have died in Japan's substitute prisons.

Foreign visitors to Japan should learn to be careful with their money.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

To all those claiming racist...try getting some facts first. You make yourself look bad.

He could be a thief, but its more likely he took from people who he figured don’t count their change or from those who know less (foreigners).

JR probably isn’t charging him as if they did, it would be even bigger news and associating crime and stealing from tourists with them.

-7 ( +7 / -14 )

He should have been charged. Opportunistic thief and no doubt about it; racist.

Hopefully some of his victims were racist gaijin. That would be a little bit more palatable.

0 ( +4 / -4 )

Realistically speaking, especially if the victims were tourists here only temporarily, it seems unlikely that they could be found and reimbursed. It is also possible that they only know about those other than the one who complained because the thieving fellow fessed up about those cases.

Foreigners travelljng in a group, distracting each other with chatter, not adept at the local language, maybe too confused or overwhelmed to carefully check receipts etc would be easy targets for this sort of crime. Buts that’s no excuse for this and I would like to see him spend some time in jail.

3 ( +5 / -2 )

To all those claiming racist...try getting some facts first.

I think that the facts speak for themselves.

4 ( +8 / -4 )

I've experienced other places trying to rip me off as I am the gullable looking foreigner... they promptly get an ear full afterwards in front of the other shoppers with their management doing the usual appologies, etc.

9 ( +9 / -0 )

Thief and racist!...Do the time. Racist....He's a thief, liar and a racist...Opportunistic thief and no doubt about it; racist.

"Racist" is such an overused term that it seems a good number pf people clearly have no idea what it means anymore. Please read up, as this term gets tiresome when it is mindlessly spewed out.

There is nothing at all in this article to suggest the guy is a racist. He was targeting foreigners (of any race, presumably) because they are least likely to know they are getting ripped off.

Yes, he is a thief and a liar, and probably a good number of other things. But no evidence at all that he is a racist.

5 ( +11 / -6 )

For the 100,000 Y ~ 100$, which he got, -- seems like he is being severely punished for such a small sum.  It's not uncommon foreigners have more money.

-8 ( +1 / -9 )

@thepersoniamnow - To all those claiming racist...try getting some facts first. 

Oh, so you mean these facts. "he targeted passengers who appeared to be foreigners."

Dictionary.com

Racist - *a person who believes in racism, the doctrine that one's own racial group is superior or that a particular racial group is inferior to the others.*

I hope this clears up your confused definition of what constitutes a racist.

-10 ( +4 / -14 )

Disillusioned

Thanks for the careful explanation.

You managed to explain to me a lot about how YOU think. But unfortunately I will be sticking with my own logic.

In what of this article did this man infer that whatever nationality he took stuff from were inferior?

How do manage to miss the point with a dictionary in hand?

8 ( +11 / -3 )

I can't figure out how so many posters here determined this guy is racist???

Foreigners are simply easy targets. A Native would definitely notice immediately. This guy is simply a thief. Now the real potential lowlife in this picture is JR. The only reason this guy isn't getting prosecuted is probably because the victims are not Japanese, and cannot be easily contacted.

6 ( +10 / -4 )

Stock Trader

Agreed, but if you wanna know how some people figure, look at Disillusioned come at me with a dictionary.

I wonder if he will also blanket statement any foreigner who does a crime to a local here as incredibly racist as well?

4 ( +8 / -4 )

I won't venture into the "what is a racist?" issue but I hope JR is treating this every bit as seriously as if he had been stealing from Japanese customers. The same level of apology and action should be expected.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

JR should have pressed charges, anyway. And nope, this is not racism.

0 ( +5 / -5 )

The law should be applied,why is it not?

3 ( +3 / -0 )

The reason why people feel that this is racist is because he has not been charged. It is rule of law in Japan which is at best biased, at worst racist.

0 ( +5 / -5 )

I think the real story here is why no charges were filed. I can only guess that any trial date would be past the tourist visa date? I think this is more a crime of opportunity without having more information about the perpetrator. Who easier to steal from than folks out of their element and focused on where they are heading next more than being short changed. Glad he was caught all the same.

6 ( +6 / -0 )

Racism is rife within Japan, it's just subtle and generally masked with Politeness - from the casual "oh your Japanese is so good", when it's not, to the meddling around and making things more difficult than they should be just for a laugh (prank).

That said, targeting foreigners is not necessarily racist, it's just preying upon the more challenged, and would akin to stealing candy from a baby, or the life savings from a Pensioner. Both are Criminal cases, as too the one in this story.

3 ( +7 / -4 )

Notice that the guilty party was not named.

8 ( +8 / -0 )

Yet another example of a Japanese criminal being treated leniently by jingoist authorities. I have compiled many reports of such behavior. Authorities are lenient with and even shelter Japanese who commit crimes against foreigners but throw the book at foreigners who commit the slightest intended or accidental infraction against a Japanese. I have reported this behavior to int'l media numerous times. I don't see Japan changing this disgraceful trait anytime soon. There will be hell to pay when foreigners start venting their anger against Japanese here and abroad.

5 ( +8 / -3 )

@ CH3CHOToday  06:56 pm JST Article 239 of Code of Criminal Procedure says that ANY person, if victim or not, can file a complaint to the public prosecutor or the police of a crime that the person knows happened.

I spent years in Japanese courts as rep for Hollywood studios fighting film piracy and my own case of victimization of hit, assault and run. Japanese judges make rulings based on their own whim with no observance of civil or criminal codes. The legal system in Japan is a complete sham. Japanese call it 'chaban' a farce.

4 ( +7 / -3 )

Macv

What is also disturbing is that an arrested foriegner's case is dealt with by a different prosecutor to a Japanese persons case (gaikensatsu).

4 ( +6 / -2 )

Crazy! Why posters call a simple crime and cheating racist? The obvious is clearly that this man tried to exploit foreigners because they are not familiar with the payment system. Simply a small and dirty criminal as they are existing all over the world. That is all.

And to those posters who immediately cry racist I need to say: My suspect is that these posters are shouting racist because a Japanese did it. A Japanese which gives these posters the symbolic opportunity to express their own deep racist hate against Japanese people.

0 ( +6 / -6 )

My wife and I picked up Shinkansen tickets at Shin-Osaka in April. But we had the rail pass. I knew I would save a lot of money buying the pass - looks like I might have saved a little more than I thought.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Racists accusing their host country of racism? Amusing really ! :)

-8 ( +2 / -10 )

Most of us are not xenophobes or hate anyone actually.

Who are 'us' ? And for the whole sentence : based on what knowledge?

-1 ( +3 / -4 )

Crazy! Why posters call a simple crime and cheating racist? The obvious is clearly that this man tried to exploit foreigners because they are not familiar with the payment system. Simply a small and dirty criminal as they are existing all over the world. That is all.

Because they lack critical thinking. That criminal scum, who was a Japanese, is indeed a thief exploiting foreign tourists but no where in the article does it indicate that he did it based on racist intent. But posters can't grasp the concept of what racism is and automatically scream of it when they read that a foreigner was the victim of a crime by a Japanese without anything further to base it on. You can only shake your head and laugh at those statements.

0 ( +4 / -4 )

Spot on Yumster, and it’s another reason why we treat things as black and white and have the left and right or whomever else not being able to see another person’s point of view.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

This is a typical worldwide "rip of the tourists" scam. Is it called racism when it happens in Bali or Vietnam? Is it racism when they try to sell you a $1 pair of sunglasses for $50, even though they dont try to charge a local that much for them?

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

I often get surprised when people get fired for a petty crime they did in their private time. Such people deserve to be prosecuted but often lose their job in an action totally unlinked.

Here we have totally opposite - someone did crime using their job position and can slip from the low? JR just regrets? Amazing!

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Maybe JR didn't want the bad media story?

They've got one now, with a cover up thrown in.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Happened to me in France and straight to my face in China even when I pointed it out. Makes no difference what country it is. Humans are fallible and greedy.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Disgusting racist. Agree with most here. Firing him isn't enough. He should be arrested, and would have, if he had pulled that stunt with Japanese people.

-3 ( +1 / -4 )

Tourists are the targets of scams and thievery all over the world. I think many say "racist" because the Japanese native population happens to be pretty homogeneous (for example in the U.S. you'd have to target people who didn't seem to speak English well because race is not an indicator of who is a foreigner and who isn't). I bet this guy made sure his victims were the ones who couldn't speak/read Japanese.

Pretty low behavior, not getting scammed and ripped off and tricked as much as in other countries is one of Japan's appeal points as a tourist destination I think. He should be punished.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Yet another example of a Japanese criminal being treated leniently by jingoist authorities. I have compiled many reports of such behavior. Authorities are lenient with and even shelter Japanese who commit crimes against foreigners but throw the book at foreigners who commit the slightest intended or accidental infraction against a Japanese. I have reported this behavior to int'l media numerous times. I don't see Japan changing this disgraceful trait anytime soon. There will be hell to pay when foreigners start venting their anger against Japanese here and abroad.

Best post I've read all day! Nice on macv

-3 ( +0 / -3 )

My apologies . . . I see the amount was 100,000 Y which is close to ~1000$ -- at that amount it starts to get serious.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Japan is a safe country guys. You wouldn't want some random pickpocket making off with your hard earned cash, would you? Leave it to the courteous professionals to fleece you with a smile.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

The malpractice was carried out 

Fraud + embezzlement, not "malpractice".

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Unbelievable! I know bullet trains are not cheap but for someone to actively plan and execute such an endeavour is truly staggering.  This is not exactly the kind of publicity Japan or its transport network needs right now, especially with the upcoming Olympics and Rugby World Cup!

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Anyway, this a very big demerit for JR. Tourist beyond. Maybe stay home.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

The ticket prices are already complete rip offs. The JR Shinkansen needs some competition and fast. When traveling by plane to overseas to other countries is cheaper than Shinkansen to Tokyo, you're gonna turn off potential riders for sure.

As for the fool charging foreigners, well, I hope it was worth it for him. Enjoy unemployment buddy. Unless JR turns their head on this one.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

The ticket prices are already complete rip offs. The JR Shinkansen needs some competition and fast. When traveling by plane to overseas to other countries is cheaper than Shinkansen to Tokyo, you're gonna turn off potential riders for sure.

Shinkansen prices are fully comparable with high speed trains on the European continent. Think lot of commenters complaining about prices are referring to the height of their wages. Many tourist destinations are messed up by 'cheap thrill' tourists so plane tickets to some destinations should be doubled :)

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Surely the headline should be that JR has not reported this to the police. This is their company policy? Makes you wonder what other similar behaviour is swept under the rug?

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Doesn't matter the race, nationality or financial disposition of the passengers, this employee has stolen from them. JR Central is wrong, it’s not poor customer service, it’s a Police matter.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

He could be a thief, but its more likely he took from people who he figured don’t count their change or from those who know less (foreigners).

So you are claiming foreigners who come to Japan are stupid! Yeah, excuse their stupidity for coming a nation with one of the lowest crime rates expecting not to be ripped-off! And no "he could be a thief", he IS a thief. He got caught thieving for his own gains.

them bullet trains tickets aint cheap... if the customers are rich enough to not care or not notice they paid for an extra ... then I reckon its totally fair play.

You really have an angst against wealthy people and no idea how businesses should operate. Just because I buy a bullet train ticket, it doesn't make me "rich". Maybe I saved long and hard so I could afford it and go somewhere nice.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

It could be that the firing is considered the punishment.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

This guy is NOT a racist he is an opportunist. He took advantage of a group of people who either could not understand Japanese currency or had so much money they did not pay attention. He should have received some form of criminal punishment He probably needs cash more than ever now that he is unemployed.. Unpunished what will his next crime be?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Login to leave a comment

Facebook users

Use your Facebook account to login or register with JapanToday. By doing so, you will also receive an email inviting you to receive our news alerts.

Facebook Connect

Login with your JapanToday account

User registration

Articles, Offers & Useful Resources

A mix of what's trending on our other sites