From our other sites
The story
Reports are piling up across Japan of unfamiliar foreign women holding out a national flag and refusing to leave restaurants until they get a “donation.” According to a TV Asahi news report, the flags being offered are cheaply made — so thin you can see through the back of them — and in some cases the women communicated by gestures, claiming they “can’t hear and can’t speak.” Since the same method is showing up in multiple locations, some suspect this isn’t just isolated bad behavior but an organized petty-swindling operation. On 5ch, users speculated about why a flag specifically is being used, with many recommending reporting incidents to the police or immigration authorities.
Across the country, incidents are piling up in which unfamiliar foreign women hold out a Japanese flag and demand money under the guise of a “donation.” What exactly is the purpose behind this?
A mysterious foreign woman “refuses to leave”
“It’s really thin — you can see through the back of it”
Source: news.tv-asahi.co.jp / Read the original article here
What people said
if we keep actively accepting more foreign workers, will small and mid-size sash (window/door frame) makers out in the regions lose work? Go under?
she might've been an illegal overstayer for all we know
throw in a Xi Jinping pin-up photo too
Yeah, that's probably it…
Ah, I see — that's why they framed it as a "donation"
As long as you don't damage it, anything goes, huh
> "I can't hear and I can't speak."
Bet the second a cop shows up she makes a miracle recovery, just like Eddie Murphy in 'Trading Places'
Should've just said you're calling the police and watched how she reacts
monks doing takuhatsu (alms-begging rounds) are basically the same thing lol
If the alms-begging monks are the real deal, there's still plenty of room to understand it, but
there have always been guys who actually got hurt on a construction site, then dress up as a wounded war veteran singing "Ringo no Uta" (a famous old postwar song) to accordion accompaniment — except you can tell at a glance their age doesn't add up
That type has been around forever
Didn't know that was a thing too
Which station?
Background and Key Points of This Story
This incident has been covered by multiple commercial broadcasters, and what stands out is that the same tactic has been confirmed in locations across the country. Many thread posts linked the method — handing someone a flag “without damaging it” while demanding money — to Japan’s legal restrictions on flag desecration, but that’s speculation from posters, not a motive officially stated by the news reports. Similar tactics have been reported before, such as soliciting donations near train stations by showing photos of children, or demanding money through unauthorized street performances, and some see this case as a variant of those. As for how to respond, many suggested showing clear intent to call the police on the spot or consulting immigration authorities, with support for the view that taking a firm stance against suspicious individuals is effective. It’s also worth noting that the reports don’t name any specific nationality or organization, and assumptions about nationality made in some thread posts remain unverified.
*This article is compiled and summarized from the 5ch (News Speed+) thread “Forced Flag Sales? Unfamiliar Foreign Women Refuse to Leave Restaurants Demanding ‘Donations’ Across Japan.”
Leave a Reply