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September 3, 1996
Nobuko Nobuhira first approached me on the third anniversary of my husband’s passing. My husband and Nobuko were from the same town. So, when my husband had died, I informed Nobuko of the news; however, she did not attend the services. It was like that at the time of first and second anniversary of my husband’s passing. That's why I didn't contact her about the third anniversary. But when I arrived at the memorial service, Nobuko was there. I thought she would leave after the memorial service but she hopped on the bus that was taking us to the restaurant where we were going to have dinner. I remember this because I had to hurriedly prepare an extra set for dinner and a souvenir for her.
I was moving around busily during dinner, entertaining the guests, but Nobuko insisted that I sit by her. She said: "I heard you're rebuilding your house. I'm sure you've already decided on the company that will undertake the construction, but can you let my husband take care of the electrical works?"
Well, I had already decided on the construction company and I wondered why she had to bring up this subject at this memorial service. I felt distressed and didn't respond at that time.
A few days later, Nobuko and her husband, Junko, came with another person. This new person spoke about the rebuilding of my house and said that the company I had decided on was no good. She insisted that I ask Mr. Nobuhira to take over the construction work.
Even though I had not asked Junko to take over the work, he suddenly said: "If you don't have the money, we can register your son as an employee of Nobuhira Electric and borrow money for you from a bank." And he continued to brag about the large-scale contracts that he'd assumed in the past saying he can borrow money from a bank at anytime. It sounded as if he had a lot of money.
I told him not to worry, because I had money. Immediately, Junko asked how much money I can get ready at short notice. It was carelessness on my part when I promptly answered that I can get hold of about 4 million yen. He said he'll talk to me about money some other day and left.
After a few days, Junko came by saying, "please leave everything up to me." Although I had not even asked him to take over the electrical works, Junko seemed to have assumed that he was going to take care of the entire construction project.
The reason I was going to rebuild my house was because my house was located on the spot in which a bypass road was going to be built and I had to evacuate from that location. The president of the construction company who was supposed to rebuild my house informed me that if I dismantle my house and rebuild it elsewhere, then I would receive some money. He had accompanied me to the Bureau of Development. This president did all the negotiating for me and the issue had been resolved smoothly. I was scheduled to receive some money and the president had been so happy for me, promising me that he will get hold of good quality materials and build a beautiful house for me. It was against this background that Junko forced himself into the picture.
After Junko left, Nobuko called immediately. I explained the situation, saying I couldn't turn down the construction company I had already asked. To this, Nobuko said: "Oh, that's easy. Just make one phone call and tell him to forget the deal." She continued saying, "If you ask that company, you'll suffer from faulty construction. They'll take lots of money from you and you'll end up crying. Since you're such a good-natured person, they'll easily put you into debt. You should leave it up to my husband. You should refuse that other company right away." It sounded as if she was ordering me.
She called me many times after that, repeating the same thing. She was so fierce that eventually, I was forced to consent and accept their threatening offer.
As for the construction company that I had decided on earlier, I refused their service over the phone as I was told to do so by Junko and since they were already on the verge of purchasing construction materials, and I turned them down suddenly, I felt very bad. As a natural consequence, that company also called me over and over again saying, "Mrs. Shimizu, please let us do the construction. What don't you like about us?" That made me feel even worse.
At this point, Junko asked for some advance money. Since he still had not shown me any blueprint or estimate, I thought this was strange but he said he'll bring it next time, and insisted that I pay him the four million yen that I had mentioned to him. So to begin with, I paid him two million yen. When I withdrew that money from the post office, Junko came along.
Next, when he brought the estimate, he said: "I don't like to sign contracts with women because they always change their minds." He came along to the bank with me and I paid him another two million yen. He was the kind of man who didn't leave until he received the money.
After a while, Junko said: "I'm going over to the Bureau of Development to negotiate so that they'll pay you more, so stamp your name on this letter of proxy." I had thought that that issue had already been settled but nevertheless, I did as I was told.
After coming back from the Bureau of Development, Junko said: "When I mentioned that I was going to do the dismantling, they said that they'll pay more money. You should be grateful." Even though this was something that had already been decided, he came out very strongly and demanded gratitude. Afterwards, I heard from Nobuko that Mr. Nobuhira had threatened the Bureau of Development to pay more money, saying, “You pay the money right away!” Nobuko sounded so proud saying when Junko yelled at the Bureau, the whole staff stood up and that it was really quite impressive!
I was supposed to receive a check of approximately thirteen million yen from the Bureau of Development. My son went to receive that money but again, Junko tagged along. While my son was going through the procedure on the second floor of the bank, Junko, who was waiting downstairs on the first floor, came up several times to check whether the procedure had been completed. Furthermore, he even accompanied my son home and would not let go of the money! Junko was even going to take that money as advance payment! When I told him to come back tomorrow, he complained saying it's the same whether it's today or tomorrow. But he left that day anyway.
The next day, Junko came before daybreak. Turning up his slanted eyes, in a deep, threatening voice, he said: "Give me all the money right away. If you don't give me that money, you won't get back a cent of the money you paid me earlier." He also said: "It doesn't really matter to me, I don't have to do the construction works. I'll quit this job and I won't pay you back the advance money." In this way, he continued to threaten me.
Finally, I decided to give Junko the thirteen million yen. Since it was a large sum of money, I asked for a receipt. To this, Junko said: "That's not necessary since I got the money. I'm not going to ask you for any more money so a receipt is not necessary." But I insisted that he give me the receipt. To this, he said, "well if that's the case, I won't do the work." The way he threatened was really abnormal, out of common sense, like that of a gangster.
Junko grabbed the money and stashed it inside the paper bag he was carrying. Unable to let it pass, I said, "You shouldn't put the money into a bag like that. You should do it more neatly." But he just said it's Okay and would not listen to me. As he was leaving, I once again requested for a receipt and to this, he said reluctantly, "I'll bring it over later." But the receipt was never delivered. Since Junko took all the money, I was worried that maybe he won't even build my house. Those were really painful days for me.
Eventually, the house was completed, although it was very faulty. And after a while, Junko called to say, "I'll be your guarantor so put this house under mortgage and borrow some money." I was stupefied. He continued saying, "I'm a board member of an electric union and I'm very influential. If you leave your money with me, I'll increase it for you. We can even lend it out at 2% interest rate." I gave him ambiguous answers but just like before, Nobuko also called. And every time I saw her, she said if I leave my money with her husband, that he would increase it for me. At this point, putting aside her husband, I still trusted Nobuko and decided to do as she suggested.
My son borrowed four million yen from the bank and we lent it to Junko. The deal was for Nobuhira to pay me an interest of 2%, 80,000 yen every month. In the beginning, he remitted 80,000 yen but eventually, the remittance began to be delayed. And the amount was reduced from 80,000 yen to 60,000 yen, and to 40,000 yen.
One day, Junko told me that the company to which he had loaned the money had run away under cover of night. Then he said that these people had been running a 'takoyaki' shop but their business failed so they ran away to Aomori Prefecture. In any case, he gave all kinds of excuses and said that he could no longer remit any money. True to his word, no money was remitted. I was so shocked because I could no longer reimburse my loan to the bank and I thought that my house, which has just been rebuilt, would also be taken away from me. My hair turned all gray.
Since I wanted the money back somehow, I went to Junko and told him gently to please return me the money. But he would not listen. Yelling all kinds of obscene words, saying he would withdraw from this arrangement, he raised his fist, putting his foot on the table and threatened me. I was so scared that I just trembled.
Next, my son went to demand for the money. The following day, Junko called and said: "You fool, stupid woman, your son came last night. What do you think you're doing, you stupid idiot!" He kept yelling "stupid, idiot, fool" over and over again. But since this was over the phone, I was able to talk more calmly. I told him, "Curse as much as you want!" To this, Junko’s attitude changed and he said: 'I'll pay you back. It's not a big deal. How dumb!" Later on, he paid back one million yen.
In fact, after I had lent four million yen to Junko, I had lent him some more money. Junko told me that his colleague got into an accident in Aomori and that a person had died. He said he had to pay 10 million yen but that he was short of one million yen. He threatened that unless I lent him that one million, he would not remit the monthly payment anymore. So I borrowed one million yen from my son in Tokyo and gave it to Junko. I gave that to him in front of a hospital in Hakodate. Junko looked so happy at that time.
After a while, Junko again asked me to lend him one million yen. He insinuated that unless I lend him that money, he would not return the money he had borrowed from me previously. So I took out a loan from three insurance companies and lent him that money. Junko accompanied me to the insurance companies at that time, too. He said he didn't want to meet anyone he knew at the insurance company and waited in the car. Afterwards, he again asked me to lend him money! I didn't know what to do. Since I was so distressed, I decided to talk to someone who knew the Nobuhiras well.
I asked: "Junko talks as if he is rich but he is always asking me to lend him money. How is the electrical works business that the Nobuhiras are running doing?" To my question, this person advised me saying, "If I were you, I wouldn't lend him any money. You should consult your son and not lend him (Junko Nobuhira) any more."
However, this conversation reached Nobuko's ears and she was annoyed. Junko called in haste and said: "My wife is screaming so, Mrs. Shimizu, you should apologize. That will solve the problem."
I couldn't understand why I had to apologize to the person who borrowed money from me. It was beginning to sound as if I had done something wrong. Suddenly, Nobuko took the phone and in an angry voice, she yelled: "Who do you think you're talking to! You've gone crazy! What's all this about borrowing and lending money!" In this way, she made a sweeping condemnation. Why do I have to be yelled at? I was in tears, not knowing what to think. I was very shocked since I had trusted Nobuko.
Come to think of it, Nobuko must have been upset that I consulted someone about her husband. Nobuko had always insisted not to act friendly with her in front of other people. Since Nobuko always acted like a queen in front of everyone, she probably didn't want anybody to know that they were in debt.
But even after that, Junko continued to ask for money as if nothing happened. Even if I told him I didn't have money, he would call me over and over to press me. He sounded as if it was my fault that I couldn't get hold of any money to lend him.
Furthermore, Junko used to come to my house suddenly even though he had no business. He would say obscene things, saying to keep it a secret to his wife, that he likes me and that he was never short of women, or that he had found an old financial supplier. After mentioning these things, he would go home.
He also used to say: "I make 60,000 yen a day. My wife keeps buying clothes one after another. She's so stubborn; she won't listen to me once her mind is set. You should ask my wife to give you her clothes and her rings." What a joke!
Also, at one time, he said something quite outrageous: "This house is worth 30 million yen with land. I'll sell the house for you so you should come and live in Hakodate. I'll build you a house." After that, he repeatedly said that he would sell my house for me. Of course I didn't listen, since I had just built this house. Then, he said, "I'll reimburse all your debt in a package so transfer the ownership of this house to my name."
These words awakened me to the true intentions of Junko. He had planned to make me bankrupt by persuading me to borrow more and more money, so that I would have nothing left but to sell and give up this house. His intention must have been to take this house from me.
Since I had determined that I would not listen to him anymore, I flatly refused his urgings one day, telling him that I had no more money to lend him. To this, Junko raised his fist, saying "What the hell!" At that time, the refrigerator at my home was empty. I pointed at the refrigerator and asked Junko to open it. I told him that since I had so many loans with the bank, I couldn't buy anything. And Junko would open the refrigerator and murmur: "Oh, you really have nothing. You're really in trouble."
And once when Junko asked for a cup of tea, I told him I didn't have any, which was true. I showed him the empty tea can. To this, he said, “You really have nothing.” and left a parting shot that "end of money is end of the relationship."
In total, the money I lent Junko amounts to approximately 8 million yen. When he was asking to borrow money, he used to cast a sheep's eye but once I started asking him to repay me, he would repeat his "dumb fool, stupid woman" etc. I was mentally exhausted. Part of the money was returned but from certain point onward, he stopped paying me back entirely. His debt to me totals 2.64 million yen. I filed a suit against Junko , in order to make him repay me, and in both Hakodate district court and Sapporo High Court, I came out a complete winner.
I would like to continue talking about the Nobuhiras, who have made so many suffer.
Back to The Accusations of Nobuko Nobuhira >>
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