It’s rainin’ yen!
Al Freni/Getty Images Ever wondered what it would be like if it rained cash? Well, many residents of Tokyo don’t have to imagine. The BBC reports that mysterious stashes of money are popping up around Japan. It all started in the men’s rooms of local council buildings all across Japan, where lucky bathroom-goers found over ...
Al Freni/Getty Images
Ever wondered what it would be like if it rained cash? Well, many residents of Tokyo don't have to imagine.
The BBC reports that mysterious stashes of money are popping up around Japan. It all started in the men's rooms of local council buildings all across Japan, where lucky bathroom-goers found over 400 blank envelopes, each containing the same amount and accompanied by a note stating that the money should be used for "ascetic training." Then last week, "bills started falling out of the sky"—18 residents of a Tokyo building found envelopes stuffed with cash in their mailboxes, totaling ¥1.81 million yen ($15,210), and with no instructions as to where the money should go.
Ever wondered what it would be like if it rained cash? Well, many residents of Tokyo don’t have to imagine.
The BBC reports that mysterious stashes of money are popping up around Japan. It all started in the men’s rooms of local council buildings all across Japan, where lucky bathroom-goers found over 400 blank envelopes, each containing the same amount and accompanied by a note stating that the money should be used for “ascetic training.” Then last week, “bills started falling out of the sky”—18 residents of a Tokyo building found envelopes stuffed with cash in their mailboxes, totaling ¥1.81 million yen ($15,210), and with no instructions as to where the money should go.
So where is all this cash coming from? Residents and officials are baffled. Theories range from religious motives to the work of a rich businessman who has no idea what to do with his money. But one thing’s for sure: The Japanese are uneasy about the free money. One resident pleaded for his privacy, “People are very, very worried…. Put yourself in our shoes. We are very anxious.” According to the BBC, all the money has been given to the police.
More from Foreign Policy


Is Cold War Inevitable?
A new biography of George Kennan, the father of containment, raises questions about whether the old Cold War—and the emerging one with China—could have been avoided.


So You Want to Buy an Ambassadorship
The United States is the only Western government that routinely rewards mega-donors with top diplomatic posts.


Can China Pull Off Its Charm Offensive?
Why Beijing’s foreign-policy reset will—or won’t—work out.


Turkey’s Problem Isn’t Sweden. It’s the United States.
Erdogan has focused on Stockholm’s stance toward Kurdish exile groups, but Ankara’s real demand is the end of U.S. support for Kurds in Syria.