akisu : update

As I wrote in a previous post here, they caught the guys that broke into our apartment. 4 Chinese on student visas.

The police came yesterday to show us the things that were found in their possession, just in case some of the items were ours. (We had planned to go down to check it out, but the police came to us because they didn't want us to make the trip all the way to Kobe, just in case nothing was found.) Unfortunately, none of the possessions were ours.

They showed us their mug shots and told us about how these people went about their business. Apparently, they would meet at an internet cafe then plan what they would do and who would do what.

Someone once told me that Chinese students come over on student visas then try to get jobs instead of going to school. Since they cannot find jobs with student visas, they turn to crime.

Hopefully the police will be able to catch others involved in such crimes and I hope that all of the possessions that they showed us will be able to be returned to their rightful owners.

I asked them if they advertise that they found items, but the police said that they don't. Only if someone puts in a report would they contact the person to see if what they've recovered was theirs.

Apparently from last July until this January (when they were caught), these guys did over 100 jobs! Anyway, they are behind bars, and hopefully they will be sent back to their country.

Our apartment complex got a "make-over" while I was away. Before the burglary, we had these "walls". The police mentioned that with these, it made it hard for them to see things when they patrolled.

So, while I was in Hawaii, the management guy took them all down. Kind of feels "wide open" and "public", but hopefully it will deter others from trying to make other lives miserable.

Hope your week is going well.

akisu

The word in Japanese for a burglary is akisu (which literally means open nest). Apparently, the end of the year is a popular time for burglaries--probably all around the world?

With the recent break-in into our apartment, I've been cleaning. Somehow cleaning helps take my mind off of things while in a sense it was probably helping me "clean" out all the bad chi (energy).

The management guy came to fix the mail box on our door and said he will pass out flyers to the other residents to let them know about our break-in. He said it was the first time he's come across a burglary that entered through the mail box. They apparently stuck a pole through the hole from the broken mail box and used it to unlatch the lock. Since another apartment was recently vacated, he took their mail box and attached it to our door.

The locksmith came to put in another lock. I can't tell you how much relief I felt after having the lock put in.

In Hawaii, usually one lanai door is stationary, but in Japan, when unlocked, both doors move. We also put in some reinforcements for the lanai door. Though we live on the 3rd floor, you just never know...

So as we approach the end of the year, the bad elves are out in force waiting to ruin our holiday cheer. We just all have to keep an eye out for each other and try to keep the bad elves out of our castles.

Thanks for all of your words of support, they really helped me get back on track....back to the kitchen I go!

UPDATE (2/20/08): they indeed caught the burglars, 4 Chinese. They also had some items on them, so Satoshi will be going to the police to see if any of our items were found.