There are an endless number of stupid ways to get arrested as a tourist in Japan. You could, for example, punch out a woman on the streets of Roppongi. Or urinate on a shrine. But a British man found a unique new way to get arrested: failing to pay for a plastic bag from a convenience store.
(Well, okay – that, plus assault.)
Hokkaido News UHB (via Yahoo! News JP) reports that the 48-year-old man of British nationality was arrested for assault. The man allegedly walked out of a combini in the city of Sapporo after he paid for his items at a self-checkout but then grabbed a plastic bag without paying the required three yen for it. Japan has mandated a small fee for plastic bags at stores since 2020.
A clerk in his 40s tried to chase the man down to tell him he needed to pay for the bag. That’s when the tourist allegedly punched the clerk in the face.
Apparently, there aren’t so many British tourists in Sapporo that they can blend into a crowd. After the clerk reported the alleged crime, police apprehended the alleged assailant.
For his part, the accused denies punching the man. “My hand may have struck his face while I pushed him aside,” he asserted.
It’s unclear why our tourists thought that shoving or hitting someone was a more appropriate response than just, you know, pulling three yennies – a full 0.02 British pounds – out of his pocket.
Sapporo police say they are investigating the incident.
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