ONLY IN JAPAN
This is pinched from Terrie`s Take, a newsletter about business etc in Japan
Changing the topic, an article out in the Daily Yomiuri claims that the number of crimes committed by foreigners
in Japan has increased substantially. While we don't want to get into the debate about the fact that crimes by
foreigners as a percentage of overall crimes is actually much lower than for Japanese, it is nevertheless true that
burglary by foreign nationals, such as Chinese gang members, is on the increase. Almost every night, the TV news covers
the latest ATM machine uprooted from its concrete foundations with a stolen construction site backhoe. Then
there are the reports of entire floors of apartments being systematically raided by thieves picking or drilling out
door locks in less than 10 seconds. This has all led to a boom in reinforcing plates, new door locks for those with
Miwa brand units (easy to pick apparently), and other paraphernalia.
One of the most interesting home security devices we have seen recently is a "Pick 110" which is a little unit you
can buy from Tokyu Hands for about JPY10,000, and which you mount near your door lock, but on the inside of the door.
The unit has a microphone and intelligent circuitry, and picks up the sounds of your lock being picked. It is smart
enough to distinguish between a drunken scrabbling of keys around the lock, and an actual pick -- thus not only being
useful but also able to save a lot of salary men from embarrassment if it was to go off in the middle of the night.
In true Japanese fashion, there is a whole media fixation growing up around people's fears of burglary. For example, did you know that the proper etiquette for preventing burglars from trashing your apartment is to leave between JPY10,000 to JPY30,000 in "Welcome Money" (we made that term up) to encourage them to get on with the job and leave? Apparently in this last few months there have been a rash of burglaries in Kanagawa into single women`s apartments. When the intruder finds little or no cash, they mess the place up, including even peeing on the bed. Accordingly, young women's web sites are saying that JPY10,000 may not be enough to prevent such actions -- so JPY30,000 is considered to be the right amount...
Only in Japan!