Another section of the aqueduct, which several cross streets run over Photo: SoraNews24
national

Over half a million yen in cash comes floating down river in Toyama

32 Comments
By Casey Baseel, SoraNews24

Its parents’ duty to make sure their kids grow up with not only a good moral compass, but also the tools to achieve self-sufficiency and financial responsibility. That’s why just about all of us, at some point, had our mom or dad tell us, “Money doesn’t grow on trees.”

And you know what? Your parents were entirely right. Money doesn’t grow on trees. Instead, it just comes flowing down the river.

OK, so maybe not every river is a venue for literal cash flow, but on Tuesday, that’s exactly what happened in Toyama City, the prefectural capital of Toyama. Around noon, people started noticing pieces of paper flowing or floating in the water of an aqueduct in the city’s Okutanbomachi neighborhood, and when they went in for a closer look, they discovered that these weren’t just any scraps of paper, but 10,000 yen bills, the largest denomination of paper money used in Japan.

We’re not just talking an errant piece of paper or two that might have slipped out of someone’s wallet and been blown by the breeze into the waterway, either, as at least 60 bills, or a total of 600,000 yen, was fished out of the stream and turned in to the police.

Online reactions to the unexpected waterflow windfall have included:

“Something smells fishy here…”

“That money has to be involved in some sort of crime, right?”

“You could say this is money laundering.”

“My guess is that someone got drunk and accidentally dropped the money in the water.”

“Oh, yeah, that’s my money. Definitely mine.”

“This is the kind of community beautification project I can really get behind.”

“I bet people are gonna be lined up all along the stream tomorrow.”

While more than a few commenters are thinking this must be the end result of some shady activity, an honest citizen carrying 600,000 yen in cash wouldn’t be completely unheard of in Japan. Cash is still widely used even for major transactions, with many people paying not only their utility bills but even their taxes, and in some cases apartment rent, in-cash and in-person at the convenience store or realtor’s office. If someone was heading out to take care of a handful of large payments all at once, it’s not unimaginable that they’d be carrying a sizeable stack of 10,000-yen bills. On the other hand, what is hard to imagine is a law-abiding person walking around with 600,000 yen, losing it, and not bothering to even file a report with the police about it.

As for what’s going to happen to the money, as with other found property, the police will be hanging on to it for three months, after which, if the original owner doesn’t come forward, it may be granted to whoever turned it in. However, the untraceable nature of cash means that it’s going to be hard for anyone claiming to be the rightful owner of the money to prove so, and this may eventually wind up as a case of “finders keepers.”

Source: Tulip TV via Yahoo! Japan News, YouTube/日テレNEWS

Read more stories from SoraNews24.

-- Man who accidentally received entire town’s COVID-19 relief money vanishes

-- Osaka residents find mysterious cash gifts in their letterboxes

-- Why was the 2,000-yen bill left out of Japan’s yen redesign, and how does it feel about the snub?

© SoraNews24

©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.

32 Comments
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Someone took money laundering a bit too seriously.

14 ( +14 / -0 )

Classic revenue stream.

9 ( +9 / -0 )

If not claimed, the police get 50%

8 ( +10 / -2 )

If not claimed the people who handed in the money will get it not the police.

6 ( +6 / -0 )

Someone doesn’t like old Japanese Sayings

4 ( +4 / -0 )

Trickle down economy is real

4 ( +4 / -0 )

i once was walking down a path at about midnight on my way to the convenience store when to my disbelief 1000 yen notes were flying around in the wind. I was literally jumping and catching said notes which added up to 8000 yen. I looked around but not a soul was in sight. I was tempted to go to the Koban but my better self convinced me otherwise. Adult private Students tried to pressure me to take the money to the Koban but I just couldn't see the point. I ended up keeping it.

4 ( +8 / -4 )

The Japanese have a saying about lost money:

You’re picking up someone’s bad luck….but of course there’s always exceptions to every rule.

3 ( +5 / -2 )

I got off a bus and there was a ¥2,000 note on the sidewalk. No one around. I had previously found a woman's bag with bank books and a purse and went to the nearest Koban which was about two hours of my time.

The next time I saw a homeless period they were happy when I gave them ¥2,000. Kept the original note, rare these days.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

When in doubt, follow the money.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

As it is almost worthless anyway

Before ascending to the Eurozone we used to joke that the Italian Lira was the monetary equivalent of a subatomic particle. I guess among developed nations (not counting Zimbabwe or Venezuela) that "honor" now goes to Japan. Congratulations o_O At least with the Yen all I have to do is slide the decimal point two places to the left to get a rough estimate of the Dollar value of something.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

I wish I suddenly found one of these money stashes in Japan. No way in hell would I be giving it to the police!

2 ( +5 / -3 )

@ Rodney I would pay you ¥3000 for a ¥2000 note. I collect them. So beautiful. Very rare.

LOL, Just go to ATM, press 2000 priority bills.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

A night out in Roppongi, including a kebab and a disease

Damn that's like five thousand dollars in real money!

1 ( +3 / -2 )

Possibly, Kumgaijin, but I've received unclaimed money that I've handed in. The cops sent me a letter inviting me to claim it. I was pleasantly surprised as I had forgotten about it.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

When I think of an aqueduct I think of a conveyance of fresh water for irrigation or domestic use. This looks more like a storm drain.

Some low level Yakuza is probably in a bunch of trouble with his boss right now for losing their protection payment or drug money :/

0 ( +2 / -2 )

Santa must have tripped over the canal, LOL

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Probably thrown away by some BoJ staffer. As it is almost worthless anyway

0 ( +4 / -4 )

Damn that's like five thousand dollars in real money!

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Someone liquidated their cash flow

0 ( +2 / -2 )

I would've waded in that water and kept plucking them out - being as silent as I could. No way in hell anybody else would've known about this, let alone be on the news.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

I'm pretty sure the money will be safely stored in a filing cabinet at the police station and after a few years when everyone has long forgotten about this story, a corrupt police chief will just give himself an early bonus.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

"Damn that's like five thousand dollars in real money!"

'Dollars' is not real money.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Loving the google map pic as the headline photo.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Fish and frogs in Japanese aqueducts need "cash flow" too.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

New form of trickle down theory.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

I would pay you ¥3000 for a ¥2000 note. I collect them. So beautiful. Very rare.

-1 ( +3 / -4 )

Who in hell sare so stupid to have called police to check ?

They film when there is a note in the water.

Hey it is clean money since it is laundered !

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

They need in those aging depopulated areas some interesting news or people who now move there for the money hunt. You quite probably won’t ever hear of unknown money raining or flowing in Ginza or during rush hour at Shibuya station.

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

I found twenty dollars on two consecutive weeks on the same street,I also found a wallet full money on a street,but the the strange thing I found some ones,and look on the shoulder,it was a wallet full of money and credit card,I turnt it in

-3 ( +1 / -4 )

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