Travelling by train turned out to be more lucrative than a visit to a pachinko parlour for some commuters last week, it was revealed yesterday.
Commuters at Hisayaodori, Nagoya “got back 10,000-yen and 5,000-yen bills as change instead of 1,000-yen bills after a station employee mistakenly put the wrong notes in a subway ticket vending machine last Friday.”
Authorities said the station lost about 250,000 yen over three hours and that only one passenger had returned the money, which was when station staff first found out about the mistake.
According to subway officials, an assistant stationmaster, 57, placed 10,000 and 5,000 yen notes in the space for 1,000 notes by mistake. The vending machine cannot detect differences in notes, the officials said.
While some corners of the internet decry as a sign of the times (and presumably the imminent collapse of civilised society) the fact that only passenger returned the money, I have to ask, is it really surprising?
We all know that if you drop your wallet in Japan, you stand a better chance of getting it back than you would in a lot of other countries. But is there really a great well of civic rectitude that’s running dry? A senior Japanese acquaintance of mine remarked that on an individual and personal basis, each person is accountable, and therefore feels pressure to do the right thing. But anonymously and collectively, (and importantly, unaccountably) people are selfish chancers whatever their nationality.
A lost wallet represents a huge risk to an individual. Getting extra change represents a (relatively) small risk to a very large corporation. It’s easy to relate to someone losing a wallet, but I’ve never felt bad for a corporation.
Also, legally, this might be a gray area. The company gave that money out, whether they meant to or not. Once it’s given out they might not be legally able to demand its return. Then the question is whether customers are legally responsible for reporting errors like this. You’d have to ask a lawyer versed in Japanese law.
I had an opposite experience once at a train station near Nagoya. I put in 5,000 yen and my change got jammed in the slot. My train pulled into the station, and I had no choice but to leave the money and board the train with a very expensive ticket.
If I had been at Hisaya-odori station when they were giving out free cash, I definitely would have kept it without the slightest inkling of guilt.
I paid a taxi driver with a 2,000 note the other day and got change for a fiver. I decided to let him know of the mistake because it was in my neighborhood and my family and I use that taxi service (and driver) often.
Just this morning I bought a 60 yen cup of coffee with a 100 yen coin and somehow got 140 yen in change. Did I think twice about the mixup? Nope. Maybe it is karmic justice for all those half-filled cups of lukewarm coffee I’ve received in the past.