A homeless woman named Tatsuko Horikawa was arrested in Japan after she was found living undetected in a man’s wardrobe for a year[1][3]. The woman sneaked into the man’s house and lived in the closet, which was part of a Japanese-style room in the one-story house where the man lived alone[1]. The man became suspicious when he noticed food mysteriously disappearing from his kitchen and installed security cameras to monitor his home[1][3].
When police arrived, they found the door locked and all windows closed, but the closet was open, and the woman was inside, nervously curled up on her side[1]. The woman had moved a mattress into the small closet space and even took showers there[1]. Police are still investigating how she managed to go in and out of the house unnoticed and if she had taken anything else besides food[1]. The man, who has not been named, would not have been able to detect her presence, as she took regular showers while he was out and was unusually “neat and clean”[3].
While this is an interesting novelty story, it highlights the importance of addressing the basic human problem of homelessness in all nations.
Citations:
[1] https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna24889337
[2] https://www.thepavement.org.uk/stories/525
[3] https://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/may/31/japan
[4] https://tucson.com/news/homeless-japanese-woman-arrested-after-living-undetected-in-mans-closet-for-a-year/article_8433bbef-ac2a-58d2-8736-4b85a715a7eb.html
[5] https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/homeless-woman-lived-in-man-s-closet-for-a-year-3212783.php
