Envelopes with cash have been left in public restrooms across Japan, officials said on Wednesday, as the bizarre form of anonymous charity turned into a nationwide phenomenon.
A day after two small cities on the main island of Honshu reported finding cash in men’s rooms in public buildings, officials from north to south Japan disclosed that they too had discovered such mysterious packages.
The unusual charity drive was a top story on national television, with media estimating that at least two million yen ($16Â 500) has been dropped off in bathrooms.
Each drop-off has the same format — a package of individually wrapped 10Â 000-yen bills, each with an identical handwritten letter.
“Please make use of this enclosed inheritance money of 10Â 000 yen to fund your self-enrichment,” each letter says, handwritten with a traditional brush and evoking the language of Buddhist monks.
On Wednesday, officials in Miyazaki prefecture on the southern island of Kyushu and in Sapporo on the northern island of Hokkaido both said they had found such packages in recent weeks.
“We don’t know who left the money or for what purpose,” said Yoshinori Sato, a spokesperson for the Sapporo city hall.
“We didn’t know until yesterday [Tuesday] that the case in our city was one of a series of events nationwide. I’m really surprised,” Sato said on Wednesday.
Kyodo News said that such cash has been found in more than 10 public office buildings across Japan.
While there’s no telling if other people took the cash and stayed quiet, all of the packages reported to authorities were turned over to police.
Police are keeping the cash in case someone claims it. — AFP