In late April, the internet went a bit crazy with this story of a 39-year-old Japanese man who was arrested and charged with defrauding 35 Japanese women in Osaka.
The duped women all thought they were his girlfriend. The man, Takashi Miyagawa, had told them different dates for his birthday so he could get as many gifts of meals, money, and clothing as possible. The fraud, though, seems only to have added up to ¥100,000 (about $1,000).
The handsome Miyagawa apparently met his victims through his work as a salesman for water purifiers and shower heads.
What’s most intriguing here — and where it starts to resemble the plot of a movie — is that the women eventually saw through his lies and teamed up together to report him to the police.
Still, you have to admit Miyagawa’s diligence and commitment. We presume he was arranging dates with all of them and constantly texting or phoning them to maintain their interest. That’s quite impressive time-management skills. We also presume he was sleeping with them all, which is probably the best part of the fraud, rather than a few thousand yen in fake birthday gifts.
MBS News managed to land a scoop by tracking Miyagawa down on the streets of Osaka.
Back when we lived in Osaka, we knew a few foreign guys who were dating multiple Japanese girls at the same time. But
