Dangerous FG-run Enterprise Busted

[Samurai_Jerk]

Says he has a wife in the Danish woman's complaints so spousal visa?

I read through that Danish woman's complaint but the way it's written it's not clean whether the American is him or someone else.

When the story broke my friend who knows him mentioned he was a model among other things. It's been awhile since I've met one of those Engrish teacher/model/any-other-gig-I-can-get types. I've always wondered how they manage to survive in Japan for so long.

EDIT: I've just been told he was married at one point and has permanent residency. I heard some other interesting things too but I don't want to get accused of libel.

[matsuki]

Well, at least now it seems obvious why they went after him...

[Mike Oxlong]

Says he has a wife in the Danish woman's complaints so spousal visa?

I read through that Danish woman's complaint but the way it's written it's not clean whether the American is him or someone else.

When the story broke my friend who knows him mentioned he was a model among other things. It's been awhile since I've met one of those Engrish teacher/model/any-other-gig-I-can-get types. I've always wondered how they manage to survive in Japan for so long.

EDIT: I've just been told he was married at one point and has permanent residency. I heard some other interesting things too but I don't want to get accused of libel.

Too bad there isn't an office water cooler to gather around...

[Coligny]

Says he has a wife in the Danish woman's complaints so spousal visa?

He speeddates as a single in Shibuya. Wife may be "wife," speeddate may be another truth stretch. Who knows, but my feeling is whatever the situation he might not have paperwork up to scratch.

The information we put out about ourselves is our biggest danger. Old school Stasi operatives would be salivating in this day and age.

Great, you also got to be that one guy who didn't hear about Assange and Snowden...

[kurogane]

............ but I don't want to get accused of libel.

Yeah, good point. I have been having lots of fun slagging him, but his parents send out a litigious vibe, and if they are horsey people they might have the time, money and attitude to indulge their delusions. Not to mention the importance of trying to keep things Aspirin Free for our beloved leader and his crew.

At any rate, The American mentioned in that Danish woman's tale of woe was a guest that stupidly started fighting the police that came to his room to investigate something or some conflict with the landlord; The Landlord used his superior Japanese to cornhole the guy and it sounds like he lost his temper. Poor guy, but still, an idiot he is also.

So, could PR be revoked for this level of offence? I thinks not. He might be FILTH, but Al Capone he is not. Did anybody else notice the marked lack of masculine flavour in those Japanese posts attributed to The Man in Question? 今日 すらいい！！！すごいい たいへん。（sic）？？？？　 クリ子ちゃん、大変だわよね．　　　ｍｍｍｍｍｍｐｐｐｐｐｐｐｐｐｐｐｈｈｈｈｈｈｈｈｈｈｈｈｈ

All the markers are falling into place.

[matsuki]

If he's living month to month and gets fined, the visa status might not be what send him packing.

[wagyl]

He has a lot of used furniture he can sell if money gets tight.

[Tateman]

He even looks sort of weedy pimpy. Who wears French Collar striped t-shirts these days?

OMG, they arrested Waldo!

[kurogane]

He even looks sort of weedy pimpy. Who wears French Collar striped t-shirts these days?

OMG, they arrested Waldo!

You've nailed it! I was thinking vaguely of some sort of Harry Potter reference but felt it didn't work. That one Purikura pic somebody posted above makes him look like a retarded kewpie doll.

At least that'll be the end of those annoying Where's Waldo contests now that we know where he is.

Waldo's in jail. This is the feel good story of the year so far.

[Coligny]

Ok, but Carmen Sandiego is still on the loose no ?

[kurogane]

Ok, but Carmen Sandiego is still on the loose no ?

Is she loose while on it?

Maybe I'm thinking of Carmen Electra, though I admit I have an aversion to midgets, even sexy ones. Not to mention women that have had sex with Dennis Rodman.

[Russell]

Ok, but Carmen Sandiego is still on the loose no ?

Is she loose while on it?

Maybe I'm thinking of Carmen Electra, though I admit I have an aversion to midgets, even sexy ones. Not to mention women that have had sex with Dennis Rodman.

Dunno who Carmen Electra is, but a quick search could resolve that.

Fascinating...

[havill]

I'm sure you'll all be happy to know that after 20 days in confinement, Chris Wood was let out with a ¥30,000 fine. http://goo.gl/xd0viD

[wagyl]

Seven guests worth, at roughly 4300 yen per guest, which is possibly not a lot different from what he was charging. And 20 days of confinement and the substantial inconvenience that causes.

[Samurai_Jerk]

Seven guests worth, at roughly 4300 yen per guest, which is possibly not a lot different from what he was charging. And 20 days of confinement and the substantial inconvenience that causes.

Well it doesn't seem like this guy is gainfully employed so 20 days of free room and board may have actually saved him some money.

[matsuki]

LOL, so when does round 2 begin?

[Mike Oxlong]

He coincidentally shares a name with an eikaiwa baron down here.

[Samurai_Jerk]

I'm sure you'll all be happy to know that after 20 days in confinement, Chris Wood was let out with a ¥30,000 fine. http://goo.gl/xd0viD

By the way, where are you getting your info from because the link you provided is a video from when the story first broke?

[wagyl]

His facebook account spills them there beans.

[Russell]

There seems to be pressure to legalize this FG's type of business after all...

The promise of Japan's short-term home rental market

Japan seems to have the right mix for developing a vibrant short-term home rental market: a rapidly growing tourism industry, a cheap currency and - unlike many countries - 8 million vacant homes.

Adding to the attractive business case is a reform-minded national government keen to loosen regulatory curbs and develop the market ahead of the Tokyo Olympics in 2020.

And despite some obstacles from local governments, home rental website Airbnb has listed thousands of properties in the hope of drawing tourist money, and others hope to follow.

"Tourists coming to Japan are on the rise, and there's definitely the need for this type of service," says Takashi Sagara, a manager at real estate agency Able Inc, which plans to connect home owners with an Airbnb-style service.

Business hopes have been fueled in no small measure by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's push to cut red tape as part of his 'Abenomics' policies to jump start Japan's long-stagnant economy.

While renting properties for long-term accommodation is legal, current rules on short-term rentals are strict: owners can't legally let their homes without a license, hotel-style reception desks and minimum room sizes.

Abe has proposed to relax these curbs. Along with looser visa rules and a substantially weaker yen, the move promises to add to the explosive growth in tourist arrivals and boost broader economic activity.

Rental homes offer an attractive alternative to pricey hotels, which in Osaka, for example, are often near capacity at weekend.

Visits to Japan jumped 27 percent in the year to October to an estimated 11 million. The government is targeting 20 million tourists a year by the time of the Tokyo games.

With one in seven properties standing vacant in 2013, Japanese home owners are well placed to benefit from this influx. The vacancy rate, rooted in a declining population and a preference for buying new homes, could rise above 20 percent within 10 years, says the Nomura Research Institute.

By comparison, less than 4 percent of German homes are vacant. In the United States, whose housing sector was badly hit by the 2007 financial crisis, the rate is around 14 percent.

OBSTACLES

Able's partner Tomareru estimates the short-term home rental market initially to be worth around 100 billion yen annually ($840 million).

But firms hoping to cash in are having to temper their plans until local governments in Tokyo and Osaka take steps to relax curbs.

Opposition from lawmakers in these cities highlight some of the challenges Abe faces in implementing broader structural reforms.

In September, Osaka legislators voted down a bill to loosen regulations, citing community worries about noise and safety. Vested interests are another roadblock.

"I'd love to get into the business. But hotels and inns have a real interest in protecting it, so oppose reform," said Daisuke Shigematsu, CEO of Spacemarket, a start-up that matches quirky vacant houses and other spaces with venue-seeking clients.

Still, these obstacles haven't stopped Airbnb from listing around 4,000 properties for Japan, although that's only a tiny fraction of its 1 million listings worldwide.

Other Japanese businesses are more cautious. Opposition from Nagano prefecture in central Japan has already caused Yahoo Japan Corp to scrap plans for a short-term home rental business.

Internet giant Rakuten Inc has been weighing a move into the industry, people with knowledge of the plans told Reuters this year. Rakuten declined to comment.

Able and Tomareru are prepared to enter the market, with more than 2,000 vacant properties in Osaka already lined up. They are hopeful that proposals to appease neighborhood concerns will help overcome opposition to Abe's proposals in at least some districts by the start of the next business year in April.

"Even if we don't see immediate results, our expectations are huge," Sagara said. "We have to try it."

Link

[kurogane]

So Chris Woods was like the Horiemon of dodgy flop houses??????? And here we were thinking he was just a scumbag.

I am sure his friends on Facebook are ready to canonise him. I remember one comment after he got arrested consoling him by saying he was too Pyua and trusting of people, which are not 2 of the characteristics that come to mind when thinking about slumlords, and especially not about that pissy little piece of trash.

[Samurai_Jerk]

When I left for work this morning there were 6 what appeared to be Chinese tourists crowding the front door to my building trying to figure out how to get in (there's an access code). I get the feeling someone's renting a room (or rooms) out on airbnb. It could be the landlord since there have been a number of vacant rooms for awhile but I wonder if it's a tenant doing it illegally.

[dimwit]

Oh joy! Just wait until they start barbecueing cats in the stairwell, and the elevator buttons get covered in phlegm.

[kurogane]

A depressing number of the AirBnB places I looked at near Asakusa and such had a large percentage of Chinese reviewers.

[Coligny]

A depressing number of the AirBnB places I looked at near Asakusa and such had a large percentage of Chinese reviewers.

Let me guess...

can't understand indoor plumbing, had to shit in the elevator...

[kurogane]

Oooh. I had forgotten about the toilet issues. My concern was the potential to wake up to a cacophony of ear piercing screaming I thought I had left behind when I left my Kyoto university digs in 1997. And that fish sauce smell. Nothing good is ever going to come of that stench.

[Buraku]

Ride of deceit: Bangkok taxi driver steals 1.2 million baht from dozing Japanese passenger

https://thethaiger.com/news/national/ri ... -passenger

https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/ge ... 1-2m-theft