Japanese Woman Calls a Stranger's Closet Home

May 31, 2008

Japanese police just arrested a woman for living secretly in a stranger's closet for over a year — sleeping on a small mattress she brought with her. Considering that this woman was living in a closet for a year, prison time might not be much of a punishment.

The homeowner knew something was up once he noticed food was missing from his refrigerator. This guy must love food a whole lot more than he liked clothes, since he noticed his food was gone, but failed to notice he had a roommate!

Well once the missing food planted a seed of suspicion, he installed a nanny cam-type surveillance system. And guess who he found! Fifty-eight-year-old Tatsuko Horikawa, a formerly homeless woman, sleeping in his storage space and walking around his place while he wasn't there. Can you imagine the eerie feeling of realizing food is missing, only to find out someone has been living in your home!

How is it even possible to not realize a person is crashing at your place for that long? Are you going to go home and check all your closets?

Source

27 Comments

3 years 6 weeks

Seanate is right. The Japanese work themselves half to death. By the time this guy got home he was probably so tired he didn't notice anything strange.

seanat33 4 years 50 weeks

I had watched a documentry on Japan,they were saying that the average man works 18-20 hours a day.There livivng quarters are very small, some of them don't even have kitchens in them.Maybe thats why she was able to crash there for so long and not be noticed.Crazy Lady

gigill 4 years 50 weeks

I love these weird news stories. :)

stephley 4 years 50 weeks

Thank you Bisque. That makes it slightly less bizarre.

j2e1n9 4 years 50 weeks

:ROTFL:

Bisque 4 years 50 weeks

I remember this article from either cnn or bbc and it seems like it wasn't the only house she squatted in. So with the regular hours of the current occupant, I think she just timed herself well and switched in between places where she could squat.

raciccarone 4 years 50 weeks

She was a ninja squatter. That's a big problem in Japan I hear.

stephley 4 years 50 weeks

The peanut butter probably was lost, not hiding from you. And even if you don't open the closet, it's hard to believe that for a full year she didn't make the slightest rustling sound to tip him off that he wasn't alone. It's amazing to think not one accidental body function sound escaped her while he was home in that whole time.

raciccarone 4 years 50 weeks

I once found a jar of peanut butter behind my refrigerator after 18 months. The flavor kept after all that time, but I still got real sick after the third sandwich.

janneth 4 years 50 weeks

Haven't opened, I mean.

janneth 4 years 50 weeks

I have one closet I have opened in months.

stephley 4 years 50 weeks

Julia's right, how could you miss something like that FOR A YEAR? I've tried looking for longer stories but can't find one with any further information- but was the storage area separate from the main part of the house? At some point, you should just feel the presence of another person. Did she breathe? Ever cough or clear her throat? Change position in the closet? It's crazy.

juliarose23 4 years 50 weeks

who on earth doesn't notice there is another person living in their house??

UnDave35 4 years 50 weeks

I've been checking my closets every couple of hours to make sure no one is living there.

LibertySugar 4 years 50 weeks

Ah yesteryear! I'm thankful, too.

yesteryear 4 years 50 weeks

im just really thankful that the guy who owns the house i'm currently squatting in has a wireless router or i wouldn't be able to sit here in this closet and comment all day on citizen!!