
Not the best way to tell your ex how you feel.
Oftentimes, when a couple breaks up, it’s best for both parties to just move on with their lives as civilly as possible. However, some people can’t let go without a final message of undying love, indignant anger, or, in the case of one man, delicious fried food.
At one point in time, Kengo Harada, a 29-year-old middle school teacher from Suita City, Osaka Prefecture, had a girlfriend. Things didn’t work out, but Harada’s lingering emotions led him to the neighborhood where his ex, a 26-year-old woman, lives in Kobe, Hyogo Prefecture.
Instead of standing outside of her window with a boom box over her head or laying a single rose outside her doorstep, Harada expressed his feelings in a very different way: stuffing her apartment’s mailbox with karaage, Japanese-style fried chicken.
Now, in most situations, the sudden, unexpected appearance of karaage is a joyous miracle. Your uninvited ex dropping pieces in with your mail, though, is an exception, and the fact that Harada dropped some plastic straws in as well suggests this was less “Baby I just want you to be happy with fried chicken” and more “Haha have fun cleaning up the trash from my convenience store snack!”
Then there’s the troubling fact that Harada was hanging out in the parking lot of his ex’s apartment complex in the late-night/early-morning hours of last Sunday/Monday. Luckily, a police officer spotted Harada, as security in the area had been beefed up following a report from the woman that someone, probably her ex-boyfriend, had vandalized her car in late March. Harada was arrested on suspicion of violation of Japan’s anti-stalking laws and has admitted to the mailbox vandalism. He is maintaining that he wasn’t stalking his ex, though, and just happened to be in the neighborhood, though considering it’s about a 45-minute drive from Sakai to Kobe, that seems unlikely.
So remember, when your ex says it’s over, it’s over, and also never, ever put leftover food into a mailbox in Japan.
Source: Kobe Shimbun Next via Jin, Nikkan Sports, ABC News
Top image: Pakutaso
● Want to hear about SoraNews24’s latest articles as soon as they’re published? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!

Hyogo man arrested for stalking woman through her bank account
Japanese woman arrested for cyberstalking elderly man twice her age
Japanese man arrested for phone-stalking his own wife, calling and saying nothing up to 100 times a day
Make Fried-Chicken-Pepsi-Fried-Chicken with our slow and difficult recipe!【SoraKitchen】
Japan’s girl’s sweat flavor fried chicken is actually delicious, if you can pass two mental tests
Japan launches first overnight Shinkansen bullet train between Tokyo and Osaka this summer
Family Mart Japan installs red-eyed “Monster Wolf” to keep bears away from convenience store
Will we eat the gyoza or our words at this all-you-can-eat dumpling challenge?
Over a billion yen in smuggled gold found inside sex dolls by Japanese investigators
TKG Debate: What’s the best way to eat Japan’s beloved raw egg comfort dish?
Starbucks Japan creates special drink bottle bags, adorable stickers for all 47 prefectures[Pics]
Japanese sweets brand creates new drinkable Cigare and we’re totally here for it
Japan announces sudden 400-percent increase in visa fees for foreigners entering the country
Japanese theme park adding Immersive Death Game with a “bomb collar” you have to wear
Totoro Soot Sprites are here to help keep your organized as adorable paper clips[Photos]
Japanese ninja certification exam attracts 131 candidates from Japan and abroad
Japanese sweets shop sells an ohagi so exquisite it sells out by noon
Studio Ghibli store Donguri Republic announces opening of first-ever store in America
7-Eleven Japan to start selling Vietnamese banh mi sandwiches this summer
Starbucks Japan releases new Frappuccino, tea and soda drinks for summer
“Phantom Egg Shop” opens in Japan, with a dozen rare Japanese varieties
New Japanese overnight train coming to connect Tokyo with Tohoku in sleep-travel style
Uniqlo reveals third round of massive 100-year-anniversary manga T-shirts for Jump’s Shueisha
Even at twice regular Daiso price, this handy item is still great for summer travel in Japan
New official Ghibli anime food cookbook will teach you how to make Ponyo’s ramen and more
Forget Tokyo go-karts – there’s a new way to sightsee on four wheels in Japan
Japan’s human washing machines will go on sale to general public, demos to be held in Tokyo
Starbucks Japan releases new drinkware and goods for Valentine’s Day
We deeply regret going into this tunnel on our walk in the mountains of Japan
Starbucks Japan releases new sakura goods and drinkware for cherry blossom season 2026
Japan’s newest Shinkansen has no seats…or passengers [Video]
Put sesame oil in your coffee? Japanese maker says it’s the best way to start your day【Taste test】
Japan reportedly adding Japanese language skill requirement to most common foreigner work visa
Japan’s 5.3 million beautiful Hitachi Nemophila flowers are now in full bloom[Photos]
Forget chocolate and strawberry – Japan now has fried chicken-flavored ice cream
Fried chicken-flavor rice spread going on sale in Japan to keep your karaage cravings satisfied
Semi-secret fried chicken from Japan’s big-three beef bowl chain Sukiya is worth tracking down
Tokyo’s fried-chicken cooking robot is here, and here’s a guide to help you use it【Photos】
High school boy in Kobe shows his love for older woman by spreading his poo on her bicycle
Complaints of foul play surrounding fried chicken grand prix results
Suntory’s brilliant new canned cocktail is made specifically to taste great with fried chicken
Idol singer girl sweat flavor fried chicken goes on sale in Tokyo
Girls’ feet-flavor fried chicken now on sale in Tokyo, promises smell, stickiness of real thing
How to make black fried chicken for Black Friday/Fry Day【Recipe】
Cold karaage vending machines take fried chicken to new extremes
Black fried chicken appears in Japan with new Black Hole-flavor convenience store snack
Japanese restaurant’s all-you-can-eat fried chicken breakfast is high-score challenge with prize
Some of the best Japanese fried chicken in Japan comes from this shack in the middle of nowhere
At under a buck, Tokyo restaurant’s all-you-can-eat fried chicken is a ticket to poultry paradise
The Japan-exclusive Pepsi for fried chicken is here, but is it good?【Taste test】