Puppy

IF IT’S TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE, chances are, it’s not. And if you think it is, there’s a catch somewhere.

Lani (not her real name) once worked for a restaurant where she met a middle-aged Japanese guy who called himself Puppy. Obviously, that’s just one of his aliases when cavorting with Filipinas after work. Lani told him that with life in Japan becoming increasingly difficult, she has decided to give up her 45,000-yen apartment for one that’s smaller and cheaper. After all, she’s living alone and doesn’t need all that space.

Puppy said that there is an apartment unit that goes for just 20,000 yen per month and that he can rent it out to her if she’s interested. What’s good about this is that she doesn’t have to pay for other charges such as key money etc. which often run up to four or fives times the monthly rent. In other words, she can move in with only 40,000 yen, which represents a month’s advance and deposit.

Because of the low price, the Japanese guy said that there’s no written contract involved and that no official receipt will be issued. The arrangement will operate on mere trust and faithfulness to each one’s word. Lani, then, was hard up, having just resigned from a job she disliked and was currently job-hunting. Working at the omise was just a means of tying things in the meantime. Puppy’s offer proved irresistible, as bills continued to pile and as her fudosan started bugging her to cough up the 45,000-yen monthly rent. Moreover, the new apartment was near the train station, which can be a major convenience if she finds a job in Tokyo or in nearby towns.

Despite the dubious circumstances behind the arrangement, Lani bit the bullet and transferred her stuff to the new place. Puppy’s glib talk convinced her that everything will be okay as long as he’s there and that she pays the rent religiously. On the other hand, it also turned out that he is attracted to her, even insinuating once in a while that she need not pay anything if she agrees to be his girlfriend. Lani would just laugh off his overtures as if it were a sick joke from a dirty old man. However, it gave her the idea that Puppy’s kind gestures weren’t done in the spirit of benevolence or altruism. There was a hidden agenda involved.

A few weeks after she had moved in, Lani found an office job in a big company south of Japan. The package included discounted meals and free lodging; however, the room provided was not large enough to accommodate all her stuff. So she decided to maintain the apartment that Puppy arranged for the bulk of her expensive belongings. Within the next five months, she would return monthly to check on her stuff and pay him the rent as well as the utilities. For a while, she considered herself lucky for having two homes and paying only 20,000 yen.

The problem began when she received a phone call one Sunday evening in September. Puppy told her that her apartment building will be sold to a new owner and that she has to return immediately to pack her things and transfer them to a new place. He assured her that he has already found a new apartment at the same cost and that he will help her move her stuff. In fact, he has already started transferring her belongings, starting with the more expensive ones, he said.

Lani had to excuse herself from work and hurriedly returned the following day via shinkansen (bullet train). When she arrived, she found that her designer clothes, shoes and other expensive appliances were missing. She assumed that Puppy had already started transferring her stuff. The Japanese guy arrived later with a friend who brought huge cardboard boxes. They told her that they should pack everything by today as the place had to be vacated by tomorrow. She knew that without a signed contract, there is nothing that she can do.

She thought it ended there and decided to return to work the following day. She realized however that it was quite an expensive trip, having paid almost 30,000 yen in fares for just an overnight stay. But the assurance that all’s well with her belongings was worth it. Or so she thought.

Less than a month later, Puppy called again and asked her to come back immediately. The owner of the new apartment where they transferred her things did not agree to the 20,000-yen rent and wants her belongings removed as soon as possible. Hurriedly, she hopped on the next shinkansen despite having been wide-eyed on the night shift. When she arrived, Puppy brought her to this new apartment where she found out that most of her stuff – the expensive ones – were gone.

She asked him where these things are and he said that these are the only ones that they had transferred. “Didn’t you tell me before that you had already secured my valuables when we first transferred last month?” she asked. To her surprise, he said no, and that the only things they had moved were the ones they had packed together. She retorted that she had a computer table and a kerosene heater in the old apartment and now couldn’t find them here. He denied any knowledge of these things.

“So you mean that somebody had entered my apartment last month before we did the packing?” she asked. He could only answer sheepishly that somebody probably did. Months back, however, he had the locks changed, charged Lani 15,000 yen for the service, and kept the duplicate key. And since the fiasco began, Lani couldn’t reach his number. She only waited for his call.

This true and very recent incident probably speaks of the changing face of Japan. Are the days of impeccable Japanese honesty bygone? Are con men on the rise? The prolonged recession has probably pushed some to barter their integrity and self worth for a few thousand yen worth of stolen clothes and appliances.

As for Lani, there is only a blank wall. She had no contract in black and white nor does she have the time and money for litigation. Luckily, she had friends who helped her with damage control.

On the other hand, she may be partly at fault. As we Filipinos say, “walang manloloko kung walang nagpapaloko.” *

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You may email the author at butch@philippinestoday.net