Mystic Arrested For Not Having Supernatural Powers

[Mulboyne]

[floatr][/floatr]Yomiuri: Woman arrested over occult scam
A Himeji woman was arrested on suspicion of falsely claiming to be an onmyo-ji, or ancient court diviner, to defraud an acquaintance, it has been learned. Hoshiyo Fukuoka, 44, told police she had defrauded three people of a total of 1 million yen for talismans and expelling evil spirits, claiming she was a trained mystic. The police suspect she took advantage of the popularity of onmyo-ji in recent films. According to investigators, Fukuoka told a female part-time worker, 44, of the city that she would help her contact her aborted baby in exchange for a total of 400,000 yen over dozens of occasions from 2003 to 2004. She told the police that she ran the scam to earn living expenses.

I wonder how they decided she was a fraud compared with others claiming to be onmyo-ji.

[Samurai_Jerk]

I wonder how they decided she was a fraud compared with others claiming to be onmyo-ji.

TIJ, so I'm sure there's a test and certification but it really is fucking ridiculous to arrest someone for that unless it's a case of operating without a proper business license. I've heard about similar cases here and had Japanese friends tell me how horrible it is that someone would fraudulently claim to be a fortune teller or whatever. I've always had the same question as you, Mulb, but they never seem to understand what I'm getting at. Maybe it's the limits of my Japanese ability but it really seems to me that they're operating on a different paradigm.

[Ketou]

Maybe it's the limits of my Japanese ability but it really seems to me that they're operating on a different paradigm.

That is so true.
All societies do it to and extent also though. Someone who believes in Aliens is often listed as a crackpot, while the guy who believes in an invisible man who lives in the sky and has a list of ten rules for him, is quite sane.......

[Behan]

It's like differentiating between legitimate fraud and fraudulent fraud.

[Greji]

That is so true.
All societies do it to and extent also though. Someone who believes in Aliens is often listed as a crackpot, while the guy who believes in an invisible man who lives in the sky and has a list of ten rules for him, is quite sane.......

Sorry, but I'll buy that, although I must admit that I'm not very fond of that one rule about adultry and no coveting gals in the neighborhood....