[First post](https://www.reddit.com/r/japanlife/comments/13iabxf/cyclist_going_too_damned_fast_swerved_to_miss_me/) and [Second post](https://www.reddit.com/r/japanlife/comments/13oinum/updatethe_cyclist_who_swerved_and_came_off_his/)
Got a phone call Tuesday evening from the police, they said that the woman wanted to apologise in person and asked me to come down to my local station Thursday morning. I took the morning off work (they are aware and have been very understanding) and am sat in a room with two cops and the cyclist’s wife.
She apologised whilst bowing super deeply and then explained that she was just mentally gone with the loss of her husband. She then offers to pay for my door and doorbell (I reject this, before anyone starts calling me a heartless asshole like in the last update) and says she understands she was completely in the wrong. She and her kids are now moving to her parent’s hometown in Touhoku so I won’t hear from her again.
She gets up, apologises again and leaves. I am with the two cops. They thank me for being very understanding and apologise for all of the trouble. They then let me know that they worked out something.
The “lawyer” that tried intimidating me the first time is a loan-shark and the deceased seemingly owed him a good chunk of change for a number of years. It seems Mr. Loan-shark was taking advantage and looking to get a good pay-day through me.
My heart sinks but the police assure me that “he is a well known character and has been told to leave me well alone”. I find the idea that police seem to have a rapport with this guy a bit worrying. I asked “surely pretending to be a lawyer is a crime” which the police just laughed off.
They tell me not to worry and that they need to run, have a good day. Call us if anything else comes up. I go home and tell the wife who also just brushes it off, “all sorted itself out then, よかったね”…
Am I the only one who thinks that some underworld figure knowing my address is fishy?
Why are the police so nonchalent about his involvement?
I am relieved that this seems to be solved but also a bit freaked out.
Again, apologies for any weird English, you have all been very kind.
31 comments
Glad it’s now sorted out, the ordeal is finally over 
What are you worried about? He tried to scam you, you didn’t take the bait and the police told him to knock it off. He has no leverage over you and no reason to bother you again. If he just wanted to rob people he could knock on anyone’s door, that’s obviously not how he operates.
The police are nonchalant because this guy probably does petty fraud like this all the time and nothing much comes of it.
The thug “lawyer” should have been in the room apologizing to you as well.
>her kids
fuck, that just makes the whole situation even more tragic.
>The “lawyer” that tried intimidating me the first time is a loan-shark and the deceased seemingly owed him a good chunk of change for a number of years. It seems Mr. Loan-shark was taking advantage and looking to get a good pay-day through me.
The family was in debt to the loan shark, not you. The loan shark was trying to intimidate you into giving money to her so that he would then get it. Now that he knows the wife has formally (with cops as witness) apologized to you, he no longer has an angle. His opportunity to extort money out of you has passed. Coming after you directly rather than through her makes no sense.
The more dramatic update posts an unusual reddit story has, the more it’s hard to believe it’s real.
But if it is real, it doesn’t matter someone knows where you live. All that guy knows is ‘someone lives there’, which applies to basically any home.
“Why are the police so nonchalent about his involvement?”
Knowing some small-scale criminals is actually useful for the police to get leads on bigger things happening in the underworld. Arresting them won’t put much time on these people, and once they got out they’ll do the same thing again but outside the police’s watch. The police is there just to keep them in check so they don’t make too much damage, i guess.
Sounds like it all sorted itself out then.
glad its resolved for you but just an all round shitty situation. Hope the wife can grieve in peace.
Thanks for the update. This has been one helluva interesting saga. Sorry you had to go through all this.. but it only furthers my annoyance towards the chaotic biking in this city.
The bikers are single handedly the most obnoxious part of daily life for me in Japan. The bureaucracy sucks for sure, but at least it’s just a waste of time.. dodging 100kg mom-mobiles on narrow sidewalks is something else entirely. Frogger_irl
> Why are the police so nonchalent about his involvement?
Because it’s a petty crime and nothing serious happens, I doubt the police anywhere else would do more in the same situation.
Hopefully that is the end to this sad situation.
Thanks for updating.
Idk but it seems to me the best outcome one could hope for, given the circumstances.
Organized crime in Japan is ORGANIZED. The police know who they all are. Think of it this way; a society will have and can tolerate some percentage of criminal activity which is most definitely greater than zero. Cops manage this crime; too much and they tamp it down.
So for example the loan shark is “allowed” to lend money and hassle borrowers within reason. Extend that to unsuspecting random civilian and he gets put back in his place. Very silly for him to lose his entire lending operation for this one loan.
So you can rest assured the cops talked to him and he will back down.
Glad everything got resolved, despite the grim circumstances.
I would still consider options regarding the police and their absolute lapse in judgement by giving your address details out. Perhaps consult with your wife and others close to you, but could still be worth filing a formal complaint against them. What they did surely breaks some protocol of privacy.
Story that keeps giving… tune in next week for episode 4 !
BUT WAIT THERE’S MORE!!!
i cant wait for the next update in a few weeks lol. Thanks for the updates tho.
Yakuzas will try to take an advantage of you if they can get away with that. In this case this “loan shark” cannot get away with it. You are also not involved in the matter in any way other than being a spectator. Sleep tight, nobody will disturb you.
I don’t think you’re heartless man, this is all an insane amount of hassle and stress for just being near some stranger who crashed his bike.
Loan sharks and other criminal types like that typically calculate risks and base their actions on the idea that people will be too afraid, intimidated or uneducated to go to the police when that stuff is happening.
Once the police get involved they back off, because it’s too much heat. Easier to stalk more vulnerable prey than harass people who they’ve already had failed encounters with.
I wouldn’t worry my guy. What a saga!
Sucks about the guy that died, I feel bad for his family, but it seems like you did the right thing in each situation and came to the correct outcome for you.
One to tell the grandkids.
Extortion isn’t illegal to these guys?
Glad it worked out for you in the end.
Still, sad for the poor lady losing her husband and having to deal with the loan shark. Horrible situation.
I hope everything goes well from now on and no more weird people harassing you. If I were you I’d still gonna be alert for a couple more years…
Btw
Somebody needs to put this on BORU.
It’s a good story with a (good?) ending. Not sure if OP wants to post an update later..
I recommend you do what we do in Mexico which is … don’t go looking for trouble. Most likely this guy will leave you alone. Just don’t do anything stupid
I’ve been following this like a j-dorama. I’m glad it’s almost* settled. Happy for you and at the same time feel for the wife and her kids. The police however….. it looks like there’ll be some sort of spin off somewhere, some time in the future.
Reading the story, it’s almost cartoonish how nonchalant the police sound. But then again they seem to be doing their job. If there was any real danger I’m sure they’d act differently.
Like sands through the hourglass, so are the days of /r/japanlife.
I wouldn’t worry about it. You have no connection to that guy, you know it, the police know it and the loan shark knows it. You’re just a random dude at this point.
He wanted to trick you into thinking you were connected and you didn’t take the bait.
Personally I wouldn’t worry.
this is the best j-drama i’ve seen so far. will it continue for another season? maybe the loan shark will apologize too, and the unlikely pair become tenuous friends, always up to shenanigans…?
j/k but this has been a wild ride (no pun intended) and i hope it’s all sorted now
Mate honestly why are you still thinking or dwelling on this?
Like the lady apologists. Her husband is dead. Good on you for being a decent human.
The loan shark is known to police. There are criminals known to police in every town on the planet – micronanlysing this as some flaw of the Japan system is pointless. Move on.
I feel bad for the wife – yeah it was not your fault at all and you shouldn’t have had to deal with this but have some compassion for where she is now…
Anyone with a widowed single parent mother or father knows how hard it is for them with kids!
This is some Tokyo Vice style police work.