Monday, May 22, 2006

Yonige - Midnight run from my creditors


The financial cost of doing triathlons has become a crushing burden for me.  My entry fees alone for the New Zealand and Japan Ironman approached US$500 each, and the airfare, ferries, hotels, and shipping costs have added thousands of dollars more.  And on top of that there is the cost of powerbars, gels, bicycle tubes, and $150 running shoes.   Recently I have  been forced to borrow money to pay for ferries, swim fees, and sundry other triathlon costs.

Apparently this kindof debt burden is quite common in Japan (and not just among triathletes).  Us Americans are well known for our profligacy and tendency to run up credit card debt.  Japanese on the other hand, are perceived as being fastidious savers.  But in fact a sizable minority of Japanese households have run up large consumer debt balances in recent years, and much of it is either to consumer finance companies at 20-30% interest rates, or worse, to black market gangsters at much higher rates.  Bankruptcy is difficult or impossible in Japan, debt can be terribly shameful, and worst of all, lenders are using increasingly strong-arm tactics to "encourage" repayment. 

So like tens of thousands of Japanese, I must start to plan a yonige - or "midnight run" from my creditors.   The yonige process involves changing one's identity, abandoning one's home, and  fleeing  in the middle of the night to a new city and new life.  A whole industry has sprung up to help facilitate the yonige.   I am thinking to change my name to something more cool and Latin sounding, and move off to some remote, exotic locale.  Actually I am not crazy about bugs or hot weather or bad plumbing so perhaps I should flee on my yonige to Oslo or Vancouver or Sapporo.   Of course I need to be discrete in my blog so my creditors cannot track me down...

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

I will track you down! There is no escaping the "eye that never sleeps".

Anonymous said...

I hear the ferry is a good cheap way to travel between Miyagi and Sapporo. I forget the name of the ports, but it may be better we keep it quiet.

Would it be better we had a GPAA Benevelance Night at Namban?

Anonymous said...

For a new and cool name, what about- Juan Carlos Fidel Norberto Toledo Plaza Castro de Salinas. It sort of fits you nicely.

Anonymous said...

Best timing for you to do yonige will be during the IM swim part. Just keep swimming until you reach some deserted island in Korean teritory. Good luck, but we will miss you, keep blogging please.

Jay said...

Thats a really good idea Mika. Thanks. I hope I dont have to swim all the way to North Korea though.