Kirk here with sad news. In 1994, in South Carolina, Susan Smith said that a Black guy had carjacked her vehicle with her two young sons inside. It was a lie. Well, today in Kumamoto another group of people was similarly scapegoated: not Black guys but those nasty foreigners. Early this morning when I was checking news to feed to this page I found several articles about a Japanese person who had been attacked by two people who “appeared to be foreigners and spoke broken Japanese.” I doubted the story from the beginning but my suspicion was that the criminals may have been feigning foreignness to throw the police off. In fact, a Japanese rapist recently used that technique to avoid apprehension but to no avail:

https://newspicks.com/news/16320651/

Folks in Kumamoto heard on the evening news today (and will probably read in the local paper tomorrow morning) that the “victim” had just made the whole thing up. Of course, he’s going to get prosecuted because falsely reporting a crime is itself a crime. But, unfortunately, “slander against foreigners” will probably not be one of the charges.

The news that two nasty foreigners had attacked an innocent Japanese guy spread like wildfire in Japan. Even now, if you search with key words like 熊本外国人 強盗 you get lots of articles about the “crime” as reported by the liar, not the fact that it was a lie. This is a common problem in journalism. A big fat headline on the front page with a falsehood and a little blurb with a correction buried on page 7 a day or two later just don’t balance out. For most of Japan, this bit of news will stay in memory (for those who remember it) as confirmation of why Japan should not allow foreigners to run rampant. Ah . . . :(

P.S. In rereading the translation of the Japanese article from RKK that explains that the guy was lying after all, I’m struck by the lack of any mention of the scapegoating of foreigners. Though it will make this post quite long, I’ll post a translation of RKK’s original article, published before the deception was discovered so you can see the difference. I suppose an argument can be made for not repeating the slander against innocent foreigners. Still, pointing out that discourse about the criminal nature of foreigners is often baseless, as was this report, would have been welcome.

— end ChatGPT translation —

Robbery in the city was “a lie” — elementary schools conducted group dismissals — police unable to confirm any robbery — man in his 50s

April 17, 2026 (Fri) 18:48 Domestic

It has been revealed that a man who called 110 in the early hours of April 17 in Kumamoto City, reporting that “I was attacked by two men and had money stolen,” later told police that he had “lied.”

Police have also announced that “no facts confirming a robbery could be established.”

On the morning of the 17th, a street in Kumamoto City was cordoned off, creating a tense atmosphere.

At a spot concealed with cloth, many police officers could be seen.

At around 4:40 a.m. on April 17, a man in his 50s in Keitokubori-machi, Chuo Ward, Kumamoto City, made a 110 call saying, “I was attacked by two men and had money stolen.”

The man told police that two men approached his car; one pointed a knife through an open window, while the other took 20,000 yen in cash from a bag on the passenger seat and fled.

Police, treating the case as a robbery, began an investigation.

As a result, nearby elementary schools carried out group dismissals.

Parent picking up a child: “I came to pick up my second-grade child. We were informed that a robbery had occurred in our neighborhood, so I was a bit worried.”

However, just before 4:00 p.m., police announced, “As a result of the investigation, we were unable to confirm that any robbery occurred.”

According to police, no suspects were captured on security cameras near the scene, and the reporting man also told investigators, “I lied.”

Police will now investigate the man’s motive for making the false report.

According to police, if a false report causes a large deployment of officers and patrol cars and significantly disrupts normal police operations, it may constitute the crime of obstruction of business by deception.

The penalty for obstruction of business by deception is up to three years in prison or a fine of up to 500,000 yen. — end ChatGPT translation — https://newsdig.tbs.co.jp/articles/rkk/2607790?display=1

— start ChatGPT translation — “Give us money,” in broken Japanese — “From his appearance and the way he spoke, he seemed to be a foreigner” — Street robbery in Keitokubori-machi, Chuo Ward, Kumamoto City; police searching for suspects | Kumamoto News | RKK NEWS | RKK Kumamoto Broadcasting
April 17, 2026 (Fri), 08:15
Domestic

In the early hours of the 17th, a robbery was reported in Chuo Ward, Kumamoto City, and police are searching for the suspects.

According to police, at around 4:40 a.m. on April 17, a man in his 50s who had stopped his car on a street in Keitokubori-machi, Chuo Ward, Kumamoto City, called 110 reporting, “I was attacked by two men and had my money taken.”

The incident occurred on a road near the Kawaramachi tram stop on the Kumamoto City Tram line. Two men approached the car and pointed what appeared to be a knife through the open driver’s side window.

The men spoke in broken Japanese, saying “Give us money,” and stole about ¥20,000 from a bag on the passenger seat.

The victim sustained minor injuries after being struck in the face by the knife-like object.

Both suspects are believed to be in their 30s. One was about 160–165 cm tall and was wearing a gray long-sleeve T-shirt and black pants.

Additionally, the victim stated that “at least one of the two seemed to be a foreigner based on his appearance and the way he spoke.”

The two men are believed to have fled on foot toward JR Kumamoto Station, and police are continuing their search, treating it as a robbery case. — end ChatGPT translation — https://newsdig.tbs.co.jp/articles/rkk/2605672?display=1