
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 this 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’s otoshidama tradition of giving kids money at New Year’s gets a social welfare upgrade
7-Eleven Japan’s ramen-cooking robot whipped us up a bowl of noodles【Taste test】
Mr. Sato accosts award-winning actor Hideaki Ito【Interview】
Evangelion original anime studio Gainax is now completely dissolved, Eva’s creator mourns ruined friendships
KFC Japan introduces a new burger 8 years in the making
Shizuoka senior charged with firearms violation after giving toy guns to the police
Giant new nine-floor arcade opens in Tokyo, wants to welcome new and old games fans alike
Gacha machine backpack is Japan’s hottest new fashion statement
Tatami etiquette: Why you should never step on the threshold of a washitsu Japanese room
Can a dirty butthole make you filthy rich in Japan? We’re starting a New Year’s lottery experiment
7-Eleven Japan starts new temporary luggage storage service in over 300 branches
Disillusionment at Tsukiji’s tourist-target prices led us to a great ramen restaurant in Tokyo
Japan may add Japanese language proficiency, lifestyle classes to permanent foreign resident requirements
Starbucks Japan releases new zodiac chilled cup drink for 2026
Lacquerware supplier to emperor of Japan and Pokémon team up for new tableware
Starbucks teams up with 166-year-old Kyoto doll maker for Year of the Horse decorations【Photos】
Starbucks on a Shinkansen bullet train platform: 6 tips for using the automated store in Japan
Is this the most relaxing Starbucks in Japan?
Large amount of supposed human organs left in Osaka marketplace
Tokyo’s Tsukiji sushi neighborhood asks tour groups to stay away for the rest of the month
Japan’s human washing machines will go on sale to general public, demos to be held in Tokyo
Japanese train company is letting fans buy its actual ticket gates for their homes
Tokyo considering law requiring more trash cans following litter increase in heavily touristed area
Nintendo’s Kirby now delivering orders at Kura Sushi restaurants, but not in Japan
Tokyo event lets you travel back in time, for free, to celebrate 100 years since Showa era start
Sanrio theme park in Japan announces plans to expand into a Sanrio resort
Survey asks foreign tourists what bothered them in Japan, more than half gave same answer
Japan’s deadliest food claims more victims, but why do people keep eating it for New Year’s?
We deeply regret going into this tunnel on our walk in the mountains of Japan
Studio Ghibli releases Kodama forest spirits from Princess Mononoke to light up your home
Major Japanese hotel chain says reservations via overseas booking sites may not be valid
Put sesame oil in your coffee? Japanese maker says it’s the best way to start your day【Taste test】
The top 10 annoying foreign tourist behaviors on trains, as chosen by Japanese people【Survey】
No more using real katana for tourism activities, Japan’s National Police Agency says
Starbucks Japan reveals new sakura drinkware collection, inspired by evening cherry blossoms
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
High school boy in Kobe shows his love for older woman by spreading his poo on her bicycle
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
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
Kobe man arrested after threatening driving school with 1,500 origami cranes
Leave a Reply