This Japanese man lived on top of a public toilet,
for three years.
We've all heard the same refrain, over and over again
in our lives, home is where your heart is.
But, one Japanese man took this to another level
Home, for him, was above a public toilet
in Usuki, south-western Japan.
It seems that poverty and homelessness is a huge issue
all around the globe. Actually according to the last survey
that tried to pin down the number of homeless people in the world
the number exceeded the colossal figure
of 100 million people.
and not only that, according to the same study
1.6 billion people lacked adequate housing.
Japan, like all countries in the world,
is no exception of this kind of social phenomenon
Back in 2013,
a Chinese woman was found to have lived in a hole in the ground
in Beijing for 20 years!
Using the toilets at a nearby park for water
and washing facilities.
The woman was eventually captured and fined
with an amount of money she was not able to pay.
It's a huge issue around the world and we still don't know how to manage it.
This Japanese man, in particular,
whose name is Mr.Yamanouchi
or you can call him the public toilet man,
was found by an electrician
who at the time was making some repair work in the area
and discovered what seemed to be a "hidey hole".
So, he stuck around for few hours and saw another person go into it.
Let's stop and think this through.
This man came into the public bathroom
and saw that someone was living there and instead of calling the authorities
he saw the face of a potential roomie? What the hell?
The electrician ended up living with the man for a while, but then he left.
Takashi Yamanouchi continued to live there for a long time,
until his arrest at 54-year-old.
The Police were astonished, when he said he had left his home
ten years ago and drifted from place to place
until made his way to Oita.
Can you imagine living in such a confined space for so long?
And we also wonder how was it that no one on this site ever watched him come in?
He must have been meticulous to fool so many people for so many years.
While hearing about this experience
it seems like this kind of housing is much more difficult than you'd expect
He had to climbed on top of the toilet stalls
with the idea of squeezing through a maintenance hatch.
According to an employee that talked to the Police,
the home of this man was surprisingly tidy and neat,
weirdly cleaner than what you'd expect from a home
that sit above public toilets.
The man had his clothing, a gas stove, and an electric heater up there.
He lived a much better life than a lot of other homeless out there.
so, you have to give him that.
The electric heater situation was probably what the electrician came to check out
and what gave the man away.
and an unusual amount of electricity being consumed by a couple of fluorescents tubes!
But there wasn't all, they also found his "attic"
was also full of 500 plastic bottles which had a capacity of 500 millilitres
all neatly organized and filled up with his urine
when nature calls...well you answer, right?
But one question that may have risen to your mind is?
didn't Mr.Yamanouchi see the people that went into the public toilets?
and the answer is...yes.
Being this the case, the Usuky authorities in Japan
have carried out an extensive search of all their public toilets.
Investigation that followed the eviction of Mr.Yamanouchi
and they can now say that all the public toilets
are clear of undesired watchers.
Now, everyone can pee safely, Thank God.
Mr.Yamanouchi did everything right.
He was cautious and organized, but it was only a matter of time before he would have been found.
There was no way around it.
He is now facing trespassing charges
and the question remains about, what to do with an unusual case like this one?
Why?
Well, a fine would be pointless because the man wouldn't be able to pay it
and prison would be a massive improvement
regarding the housing that Mr.Yamanouchi is accustomed to.
Maybe they'll have to reconsider the old Edo era punishment
of face tatooing, because they have no idea what to do.
We'll wait and see.
The fact is, this is something that the justice secretary
will have to think about.
In the meantime, all those people that used the public bathrooms
are kept wondering about if they were watched over during that private relief time they had,
back when he was living up there. Crazy, right?