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The story
According to a suspicious-person alert site, at around 5 p.m. on October 5 at a housing complex in Kokura-Minami Ward, Kitakyushu City, Fukuoka Prefecture, a man believed to be in his 60s approached an elementary school girl, showed her a leaf, and asked, “What does this make you think of?” The man was reportedly wearing a light orange jacket. There are no reports of any harm done, but because the question was so abrupt and oddly philosophical, 5ch quickly filled with jokes invoking Plato’s Theory of Forms and the novel/film “How Do You Live?” At the same time, some lamented, “Has it really come to this — a middle-aged or older guy can’t even talk to a kid without getting reported?” — splitting opinion over how to take the encounter itself.
(Fukuoka) Man speaks to girl at Tokuriki housing complex, Kokura-Minami Ward, Kitakyushu — October 5 | NEWSjp – Japan Suspicious Person Information Center
Published 2026/10/06 18:20:00
According to Fukuoka Prefectural Police, at around 5 p.m. on October 5, an incident occurred at a park in the Tokuriki housing complex, Kokura-Minami Ward, Kitakyushu City, in which a man approached an elementary school girl. (Description of the individual: male, approximately 60 years old, light orange jacket)
Source: news.jp / Original article here
What people said
Bit late for that.
An old guy talking to women or kids at all is already "out." Can't even make eye contact, can't get within two meters.
Well, the average age on this board is north of 50.
Another weird one shows up lol
Depending how you look at it, it's actually pretty philosophical lol
A leaf otaku? (wink wink)
He found the Platonic Form in the shape of the leaf and asked the girl, "This is a leaf, but it is not a leaf. What do you think when you see it?"
Background and Talking Points
A “suspicious approach” report doesn’t mean a child was definitely harmed — police and private alert sites routinely collect and publish this kind of precautionary information so parents and local communities can stay alert to similar incidents. This case, too, is based on a sighting reported to Fukuoka Prefectural Police, and the man’s identity and motive remain unknown. What split opinion in the thread was how “abnormal” this kind of behavior should be considered. Some felt it’s stifling that an older man simply speaking to a child is now enough to get him reported and logged, while others argued that any adult approaching a child, whoever they are, warrants caution. Showing a kid a leaf and asking what it makes them think of is, absent any actual harm, easy to laugh off — but what’s easy to overlook is that these accumulated alerts can eventually reveal a pattern in one person’s behavior, so even if it’s treated as a joke here, keeping the record still serves a purpose.
*This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (News Express+) thread “[Suspicious Approach] 60-Something Man Shows Girl a Leaf, Asks “What Does This Make You Think Of” — Fukuoka.”
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