You know those trust exercises where you ask a buddy to help you move? Yeah, this one went horribly wrong.
In Kagoshima, a 41-year-old guy who does odd jobs (claims he’s an electrician) was asked by a woman in her 50s — someone he actually knew — to help with her move back in July 2022. She trusted him to haul out 157 items, mostly character figures she had displayed around her house, and get them safely to her new place in枕崎市 (Makurazaki).
Spoiler: they never arrived.
Instead, police say he just kept them. The whole collection was valued at around 3.25 million yen (roughly $22,000–$23,000 USD depending on the exchange rate). About half of it was those prized character figures otaku folks spend serious cash on.
Now the guy’s been arrested on suspicion of embezzlement in the course of business. When cops questioned him, he apparently admitted it and casually dropped the line: “I already disposed of them.”
Oof.
Whether he sold them, trashed them, or stashed them somewhere, that’s a brutal loss for the victim. Imagine packing up your beloved collection, handing it over to someone you thought you could count on, and then… poof. Gone.
This story is a wild reminder that even in something as mundane as hiring help for a move, you’ve gotta be careful — especially when valuable (and sometimes very personal) hobby stuff is involved. Character figures aren’t exactly easy to replace, and the emotional hit on top of the financial loss has gotta sting.
Police are still looking into the motive. In the meantime, if you’ve got a big move coming up in Japan, maybe double-check those references… and consider getting everything in writing.
Stay safe out there, folks. Protect your figures.
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