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Japanese Man Breaks Into Middle School To Retrieve Confiscated Items 40 Years Late, Gets Arrested

Japanese man confiscated items


We were all students once, and most of us have had something confiscated by a teacher. Sometimes they give them back, but most of the time, they don’t. Holding a grudge for over 40 years, one Japanese man took this slight very seriously and decided to break into his school to reclaim his belongings decades later.


Back to school, decades too late


japanese man confiscated - classroom
Image credit: Darklanlan

UHB, a news outlet in Hokkaido, reported that the man, accompanied by his girlfriend around midnight on 14th January 2022, snuck onto the grounds of his old middle school in Mikasa, Hokkaido. His reason for trespassing? To retrieve something that had apparently been confiscated from him by his teacher during his middle school days. 

What this item is remains unclear, but it’s certainly important enough for this man to launch a covert operation while the school was closed for winter vacation. 

japanese man confiscated - japanese classroom
Image credit: Hiroyoshi Urushima

The pair managed to enter school grounds and make it to one of the staff rooms, where they were detected by a staff member who happened to be on the premises that night. The couple was reportedly talking loudly, thinking that no one was around.

The staff member immediately contacted the authorities, which led to the arrest of the duo in the principal’s office. 


Background of the trespassing Japanese man


japanese man confiscated - elderly couple
Image credit: Matt Bennett

You may have assumed that the man is a recent graduate still nursing a grudge. But in reality, the trespasser is currently 63 years old, and his girlfriend is no spring chicken either – she’s only 5 years his junior. She also attended the same middle school. 

Why the two thought it would be a good idea to creep into the school to retrieve something that was confiscated over 40 years ago eludes us. 

japanese man confiscated - old japanese man
Image credit: Pakutaso

For starters, they could have simply called the school to inquire about the whereabouts of said contraband items, or even visited the school during regular office hours to seek permission to look for it. It is likely that the man’s contraband items were thrown out by the time he graduated.

Sensible thought clearly wasn’t at the top of their list that night, especially since according to the Mikasa police, the two were found to be intoxicated at the time of their arrest.


Wanted to find the contact details of the teacher


In addition to retrieving his lost items, the man also hoped to find the contact information of the teacher who had confiscated his belongings, which was probably why the pair was found in the principal’s office. 

What he wanted to do with said contact information is unclear, but once again, there were better ways to go about achieving this goal. 


Confiscated items still not found by trespassing Japanese man  


Although the whereabouts of the confiscated items remains unknown, we hope the man has sobered up and learned the error of his ways. Whatever he was looking for, we hope that by some twist of fate, he finds it soon.

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Cover image adapted from: Hiroyoshi Urushima