Man breaks into Japanese high school, steals desk to “get taste of the world of Love Live” anime

Breaking into a high school is never a smart idea, but some motives are dumber than others.

In late October, Kohei Ohori, a 28-year-old resident of Shizuoka City decided to sneak into a local public high school and steal some things. With this criminal endeavor successfully completed, on another day he decided to pull a second caper by burglarizing a nearby private combined middle/high school for girls.

Eventually, though, the law caught up to him. Ohori’s trial in Shizuoka District Court began on February 16, and while breaking into a school already falls under the category of strange crimes, his motive, as well as what he chose to steal, are causing the head-scratching to intensify.

“I wanted to get a taste of the world of Love Live,” Ohori told investigators, invoking the name of the mega-hit anime franchise about schoolgirls forming idol singer groups. As for what he stole, it’s a baffling random collection of items.

▼ As is often the case in Japan, the authorities meticulously arranged the recovered property.

According to police reports, Ohori stole at least one long desk/folding table. It’s not clear if the rest of the furniture seen in the video was stolen, but among the items that definitely are being displayed as evidence are amplifiers, a cable spool, multiple trophies and awards plaques, basketball jerseys, one school uniform, a plastic sack with a few dozen tennis balls in it, and several stacks’ worth of textbooks/workbooks.

▼ It’s worth pointing out that while the Sunshine branch of Love Live is set in Shizuoka Prefecture, it takes place in the town of Numazu, which is about an hour and a half east of Shizuoka City, as shown on the map here.

The stolen amps and cord sort of fit with the Love Live motive, and the large amount of sports paraphernalia is probably a result of the man breaking into both schools’ gymnasiums during his incursions. “I wanted to immerse myself in the memories of my student days,” Ohori also said during police questioning, but it’s hard to see how that desire would lead him to steal what looks to be about 50 textbooks, as doing a whole bunch of homework isn’t usually what people get wistfully nostalgic for when looking back on their youth.

On the opening day of the trial, Ohori admitted to the charges, saying “There is no mistake” in regards to the accusations against him. His lawyer has also indicated that he has no intention of contesting the charges, and that compliant attitude is likely to help Ohori avoid jail time when he’s sentenced, though if he does end up having to serve time, maybe it’ll just feel like a teacher giving him detention.

Source: SBS News via Yahoo! Japan News via Jin
Top image: Pakutaso
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