Man arrested after taking taxi from Tokyo to Fukuoka and refusing to pay Y359,230 fare

Tuesday 31st March, 03:20 PM JST

TOKYO —

A man who took a taxi from Tokyo to Fukuoka was arrested Monday for failure to pay the fare which totaled 359,230 yen, police said Tuesday. According to police, the suspect, identified as Takeshi Utsunomiya, 49, got into the taxi near Shinagawa station in Tokyo and asked the driver to take him to his hometown, Kagoshima, on Saturday March 28. The driver told police he was dubious, but decided to set off on the 1,100-km drive to Kagoshima anyway.

On the following day, when the taxi stopped at a gas station, the driver got suspicious and called the police to report the incident. Police caught up with the taxi driver and his passenger at Dazaifu in Fukuoka Prefecture, and took Utsunomiya in for questioning.

At the time of his arrest, Utsunomiya, who is unemployed, had a bag, two broken cell phones and roughly 500 yen in his possession. The driver told police the 500 yen in loose change was his because he had loaned Utsunomiya some money to buy snacks along the way.

While on the road, Utsunomiya borrowed the driver’s cell phone and asked his relatives to pay the fare. Although all of his relatives said no, he pretended that he could manage to borrow the money from one of his relatives once they got to Kagoshima, police said.

Wire reports

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Latest 15 of 64 Total Comments Show All

boboh at 08:25 PM JST - 1st April

I think its all a misunderstanding. He`s really Takeshi Fukuoka and wanted to got to Utsonomiya.
whyamiinjapan at 11:24 AM JST - 2nd April

I can see some character asking a New York taxi driver to take him to Florida. The response would be "GET OUTTA MY CAB!"
BigInJapan at 06:15 PM JST - 2nd April

Someone was right: we maybe fooled by numbers. It maybe not that uncommon at all. People who wants to disappear really fast, they use taxi to go far away. It also make sense that he may not have money with him but supposedly can got at the destination. And the taxi driver makes a try: high risk, but probably high profit. I guess we just don't read in the news the successful escape stories, so all we see that failed ones.
narita at 07:45 PM JST - 3rd April

Taxi driver shoudl have insurancee against such fellow. Of course in this case, the driver was stupid to agree to go up to kagoshima.
carlosgodoy1 at 09:43 PM JST - 3rd April

"Kagoshima? I said Kawasaki! Is that why it took so long? Im not paying this, should cost 770, tops! Does that meter say 300,000?"
mnemosyne23 at 02:33 AM JST - 4th April

Okay, I definitely think the driver should have asked for some kind of down payment before starting off on the trek, but hindsight is 20/20. But as soon as the guy BORROWED THE DRIVER'S PHONE and started phoning his family to LEND HIM MONEY to PAY THE FARE, the driver should have pulled over and dumped him. Especially when the first call didn't net him the cash and he had to call additional relatives. The driver certainly shouldn't have loaned him money for snacks! I wasn't there, so I can't account for the situation -- maybe the guy gave the driver a really heartwrenching sob story. But it sure feels WEIRD.
helloklitty at 10:35 AM JST - 4th April

They need to put the cabbies name out there...he's a dumbass

That's an insult to dumbasses.
Sarge at 10:51 AM JST - 4th April

Kitty - Har!
cuddles2009 at 07:34 PM JST - 6th April

Now that I have stopped laughing after 30 min

Your telling me this Dumbass (Sorry the regular Dumbasses) actually drove all the way to Fukuoka and then became suspicious and it cost ￥359,230 which means it will cost ￥359,230 to get the dam taxi back to Tokyo.

A Plane or train would have been cheaper, was Utsonomiya dressed in a suit or something?

I kind of hope this guy is no longer a Taxi driver.

Also he must have driven throughout the night, which is also illegal because of Max driving hours.

When he became suspicious he called the police, How long did it take for them to stop laughing or where did they find the spare time fro bike checking to investigate this serious missjudgement of a taxi driver.

This should be a new movie the police against the taxi driver called (Yes its been made before) Dumb and Dumber. Im surprised the police believed him.
cuddles2009 at 07:36 PM JST - 6th April

Did the taxi driver call his wife and say....I won`t be home tonight hon

Hahahahaha
nurse13 at 07:39 PM JST - 6th April

What is the equivalent of the fare in dollars?
nurse13 at 07:45 PM JST - 6th April

So many seem to blame the cab driver. However, some may forget to acknowledge that it’s Japan where the natives are supposed to be upstanding citizens. Perhaps that was the cause of the driver’s delayed suspicions. As some of us know, that will never happen in the States.
Sarge at 09:23 PM JST - 6th April

"What is the equivalent of the fare in dollars?"

Lessee... currently the almighty U.S. dollar buys about 100 yen... 359,230 divided by 100... I now apply my powerful brain to the problem...

It's a fist full of dollars!
bushlover at 12:11 PM JST - 7th April

From the cab companies I know of and how bad they are at driving safely and living up to accidents they cause I don't feel sorry for this dolt one bit. I may try this myself next time in Tokyo. Hey I need a lift to Seattle. Wonder if they'll tell me to get in and start driving...
mistersmarmy at 01:35 PM JST - 7th April

i dont believe this story. if so i guess the movie dumb and dumber was also largely based on a true story? even if the taxi driver had a very low IQ, he still would not have agreed to this trip. where did JT get this info.?