
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
Pokémon Center Online designates first Pokémon items that will require Japanese ID card to buy
Pokémon comes to McDonald’s Japan for new Happy Meals toys, brings every generation’s starters
Starbucks Japan to open Shinkansen platform stores at Kyoto and Nagoya stations
Akita Kanto Festival, one of Japan’s most spectacular summer festivals, gets an anime twist this year
Aichi city throws year-long 20th birthday bash for giant beckoning cat statue, Hello Kitty invited
Japan’s largest online flea market reminds users that selling used school swimsuits is prohibited
Final Fantasy plushie shoulder bags are fuzzy and functional [Photos]
Air-conditioned dress shirts arrive in Japan to save working professionals from sweltering heat
Toyota Museum’s international retro vehicle parade returns to Aichi this autumn
U.S. government reportedly planning to close Nagoya consulate
Tokyo’s newest viral dessert is like a Japanese parfait inside a bread bun [Taste test]
Japanese vending machine sells freshly squeezed lemon juice with a futuristic light show
Starbucks Japan releases first-ever gacha capsule toys, featuring iconic menu items as plush coffee charms
7-Eleven Japan adds new chocolate fruit gummies to its sweets range, but are they worth the hype?
7-Eleven Japan now offering baked-in-store pizza by the slice with two very different topping sets
Starbucks Japan opens new store inside historic seaside quarantine station near Tokyo
Studio Ghibli’s No Face twirls to sound of Spirited Away’s theme song in beautiful accessory box
Live-action Princess Mononoke is coming to streaming as a live event, previews look amazing [Video]
Studio Ghibli has a new anime out, and there’s only one place in the world where you can see it
Tokyo subway installing new ticket gates that don’t accept payment through Suica or other IC cards
Japan now has human refrigerators inspired by Japanese vending machines
Hatsune Miku collaborates with Hokusai’s art in new Vocaloid ukiyo-e illustration series [Pics]
New Shinkansen luggage drop-off system begins in Japan, making train travel even easier
Studio Ghibli releases anime T-shirts that pay homage to one of Hayao Miyazaki’s most personal films
Family Mart opens new “Famima” flagship store in Tokyo that’s like a tourist attraction
Uniqlo looks back to the very start of Pokémon with new black-and-white pixel art T-shirts[Pics]
Japanese Shinkansen becomes an overnight hotel for three nights this summer
Japan announces sudden 400-percent increase in visa fees for foreigners entering the country
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
Starbucks Japan releases new sakura goods and drinkware for cherry blossom season 2026
Japan’s newest Shinkansen has no seats…or passengers [Video]
Japanese ninja certification exam attracts 131 candidates from Japan and abroad
Salomon releases Japan-exclusive Mt. Fuji hiking gear that doubles as an amazing souvenir
Put sesame oil in your coffee? Japanese maker says it’s the best way to start your day【Taste test】
Forget chocolate and strawberry – Japan now has fried chicken-flavored ice cream
High school boy in Kobe shows his love for older woman by spreading his poo on her bicycle
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】
Complaints of foul play surrounding fried chicken grand prix results
Idol singer girl sweat flavor fried chicken goes on sale in Tokyo
Suntory’s brilliant new canned cocktail is made specifically to taste great with fried chicken
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