0:00 [SPEAKER_00]: This is Jessica, and you're listening to the Asian Madness podcast. 0:46 [SPEAKER_00]: Hi everyone, and welcome back to episode 140. 0:49 [SPEAKER_00]: Before I talk about this episode, I want to say a few words about what's been going on in my life. 0:55 [SPEAKER_00]: If you follow me on social media, you may know that I have to pause for a little bit because my dog died recently. 1:03 [SPEAKER_00]: She was 13 and a half, very cute, and I brought her to the U.S. from Taiwan to live with me in 2024. 1:10 [SPEAKER_00]: We found out earlier this year that she had himangis or coma, an aggressive form of cancer. 1:17 [SPEAKER_00]: She had a tumor growing on her little tiny heart. 1:21 [SPEAKER_00]: When you shouldn't have long, but she was doing so well for months, so it almost felt like she was misdiagnosed, until it all changed overnight. 1:30 [SPEAKER_00]: So thank you all for your kindness, your understanding, and for your sympathy. 1:35 [SPEAKER_00]: It's greatly appreciated. 1:38 [SPEAKER_00]: Okay, now on to the episode. 1:41 [SPEAKER_00]: So I know for many of you this is your favorite episode where we talk urban legends and ghost stories. 1:47 [SPEAKER_00]: I truly understand that because most of the books and movies I consume nowadays are of the horror genre. 1:55 [SPEAKER_00]: I would love to add some social media posts introducing some of my favorite books and recent years. 2:00 [SPEAKER_00]: So if you're into that, I hope you check it out once I decide to post. 2:05 [SPEAKER_00]: But what is spooky to me? 2:07 [SPEAKER_00]: May not be spooky to you. 2:09 [SPEAKER_00]: And that's okay. 2:12 [SPEAKER_00]: We can range from the mildly creepy, the mildly wrong, the mildly uncanny to straight up or people screaming their heads off, but the tails I choose to retell are rarely the screaming kind. 2:26 [SPEAKER_00]: I prefer this somewhat unsettling tails. 2:29 [SPEAKER_00]: The ones that perhaps can be explained away with some type of logic, door slamming for no reason, must have been the wind. 2:37 [SPEAKER_00]: The mug you left on the table is suddenly sitting on a bookshelf, someone obviously moved it, probably. 2:44 [SPEAKER_00]: But what if you live alone? 2:46 [SPEAKER_00]: Then just blame your own memory. 2:49 [SPEAKER_00]: These tales leave more to the imagination, and in that way you can choose to branch out 2:58 [SPEAKER_00]: Before we get to the tales today, I do hope you're all doing fantastic, taking great care of yourselves, and staying hydrated. 3:06 [SPEAKER_00]: The usual. 3:08 [SPEAKER_00]: I'm extra excited to discuss today's tale because it took me a long time to come up with the five that I liked enough to want to share. 3:16 [SPEAKER_00]: Not all spooky tales work very well because some are either too short and I don't want to make stuff up, or I have a hard time writing it. 3:25 [SPEAKER_00]: I'm also genuinely running out of stories, so kind of tough. 3:29 [SPEAKER_00]: Again, truth, fiction, or somewhere in between, that's up to you to decide. 3:36 [SPEAKER_00]: Let's begin. 3:39 [SPEAKER_00]: For tale number one, this was found online, which is where I find most of my stories. 3:45 [SPEAKER_00]: It's one of those tales that have been retold so many times that no one actually knows where it came from, or how it truly happened. 3:52 [SPEAKER_00]: Either way, it's somewhat creepy and like many others, a little bit sad. 3:58 [SPEAKER_00]: This story supposedly takes place somewhere in India, and that can literally be anywhere as India is large. 4:06 [SPEAKER_00]: So here it goes. 4:07 [SPEAKER_00]: This is a story involving four best friends, whom we shall simply name A, B, C, and D. 4:16 [SPEAKER_00]: The four best friends attended the same boarding school, and they were constantly hanging out, doing activities together, and, of course, staying in touch with each other when away from school. 4:27 [SPEAKER_00]: It was break time, and the four of them were set to begin their final year of school soon. 4:33 [SPEAKER_00]: The four of them agreed weeks ago, on the day they would all arrive back at their dormitories, and, of course, they were excited to see each other again, and share their holiday tales 4:45 [SPEAKER_00]: All four girls arrived back to their dorms as planned, a couple of days before the school year was set to start. 4:51 [SPEAKER_00]: They wanted some time to get back into the rhythm, to hang out. 4:55 [SPEAKER_00]: So, A, B, C, and D all gathered in one of the rooms, the four of them nibbling on snacks, giggling over stories, and sharing their dreams and fears. 5:08 [SPEAKER_00]: A couple hours go by, and at this point, one of the girls, D, stands up and tells her friends she's getting kind of tired. 5:16 [SPEAKER_00]: She's going to go take a shower and we'll be back to say good night before she heads off to bed. 5:22 [SPEAKER_00]: The three other friends agree and they continue doing their thing until suddenly A looks at the time. 5:29 [SPEAKER_00]: To her surprise, a whole hour had gone by since D left a shower. 5:34 [SPEAKER_00]: where it was D. They wondered if D was actually still in the bathroom, perhaps taking a long shower and doing skin care. 5:42 [SPEAKER_00]: So they dismissed their initial worry and continued on. 5:46 [SPEAKER_00]: Another hour passes by, and D has not returned. 5:49 [SPEAKER_00]: Logically, D could have to shower and gone straight to a room to sleep, but the three friends decided to make sure nothing happened to her. 5:57 [SPEAKER_00]: Just to reassure themselves, 6:00 [SPEAKER_00]: They go into the other dormitories, but they're all empty. 6:04 [SPEAKER_00]: They make their way to the bathroom and the shower stalls, and it was empty. 6:08 [SPEAKER_00]: Except for one bathroom stall. 6:11 [SPEAKER_00]: They knocked, no answer. 6:13 [SPEAKER_00]: They peeked under the door gap, they saw nothing. 6:16 [SPEAKER_00]: At least nothing indicating that somebody was in there. 6:20 [SPEAKER_00]: At this point, the three girls were getting very worried. 6:23 [SPEAKER_00]: Where could D have gone? 6:25 [SPEAKER_00]: They proceeded to contact the school security guards, and when told what was happening, he came over to assist. 6:32 [SPEAKER_00]: He managed to break open that one locked bathroom stall, but to their surprise and perhaps relief as well, it was empty. 6:41 [SPEAKER_00]: So where was D? 6:43 [SPEAKER_00]: With no idea where their friend was, the three friends on the adults present decided they had to tell these parents. 6:50 [SPEAKER_00]: Even if it turned out to be a misunderstanding, they wanted to keep these parents in the loop. 6:54 [SPEAKER_00]: So they called. 6:56 [SPEAKER_00]: These father picked up the phone, sounding very tired. 7:00 [SPEAKER_00]: They awkwardly explained the situation to them, telling him that while they arrived, she is nowhere to be found right now, and that she was missing. 7:13 [SPEAKER_00]: The silence stretched on for a bit, which was strange as the girls fully expected him to freak out. 7:20 [SPEAKER_00]: Instead, these fathers said that he hadn't told anyone from the school yet, but D had actually passed away a few days ago, when she was still back at home. 7:30 [SPEAKER_00]: He had planned on telling the school the day before school started. 7:35 [SPEAKER_00]: Upon hearing this, the three girls felt extremely uncomfortable. 7:39 [SPEAKER_00]: Was he joking? 7:41 [SPEAKER_00]: Why would he joke about his child dying? 7:44 [SPEAKER_00]: After hanging up the call, the girls went to their rooms, confident that they had seen the arrive, had seen her bring her luggage and place it in the room. 7:53 [SPEAKER_00]: Except, they found no trace of D. It's as if she was never there at all. 8:00 [SPEAKER_00]: On one hand, the story feels a little creepy. 8:03 [SPEAKER_00]: You have an encounter with someone you believe to be human, but afterwards you find out that this person had already died. 8:10 [SPEAKER_00]: So either you are seeing things, mass hallucinating, or you have been visited by ghost. 8:18 [SPEAKER_00]: On the other hand though, it's a sad story, someone who loves you, who would never see you again, is somehow conjured up to hang out with you one last time. 8:28 [SPEAKER_00]: They met no harm, but they're also unable to explain what is happening. 8:34 [SPEAKER_00]: Do the dead know that they're dead? 8:36 [SPEAKER_00]: Who knows? 8:38 [SPEAKER_00]: While a bit unsettling, you can choose to see this as a heartwarming story of a girl 8:49 [SPEAKER_00]: Next up, I'm transporting us all to Taiwan. 8:53 [SPEAKER_00]: Taiwan, similarly to Singapore, Vietnam and South Korea, mandatory military service is required for all eligible men. 9:02 [SPEAKER_00]: The regulations surrounding this has changed a lot over the years. 9:06 [SPEAKER_00]: But men have it a little easier in Taiwan, as a service period is usually around one year, whereas it's two years or more in other countries. 9:15 [SPEAKER_00]: I don't know what it is about these military bases though, but there is simply no shortage of creepy tales and urban legends. 9:23 [SPEAKER_00]: Sometimes it's vague, like the military base was used for horrendous things at one point in history. 9:29 [SPEAKER_00]: But other times, it's oddly specific about a person who went 9:35 [SPEAKER_00]: and are now haunting the grounds. 9:38 [SPEAKER_00]: This tale would be of the latter. 9:41 [SPEAKER_00]: There is a very well-known military base located around Taichung and anyone from Taiwan would know of this place. 9:48 [SPEAKER_00]: It's one of the larger bases and its history goes back to the Japanese occupation, where it was initially used as a horse racing track and golf course. 9:58 [SPEAKER_00]: Not very spooky, I know. 10:00 [SPEAKER_00]: Eventually, after the Japanese left, the area was turned into a military base for new recruits. 10:07 [SPEAKER_00]: More than 1.3 million young men underwent their military baptism at this base. 10:13 [SPEAKER_00]: So knowing how long it's been around, it's only normal for there to be some strange happenings or ghost stories. 10:19 [SPEAKER_00]: Some people will swear that this is a true story, but because it took place so long ago, 10:30 [SPEAKER_00]: So what is a story? 10:33 [SPEAKER_00]: Like I mentioned, this supposedly took place decades ago. 10:37 [SPEAKER_00]: So a group of young men were sent to this base for their first month of military training. 10:42 [SPEAKER_00]: After the first month, there would be a specific day where all their family members or friends were allowed on the base to visit these young men. 10:50 [SPEAKER_00]: It's a very happy time for these guys because they basically had their freedom taken away for an entire month, away from their normal lives and loved ones. 10:59 [SPEAKER_00]: During one of these visitation days, a beautiful young woman arrived to visit her boyfriend. 11:04 [SPEAKER_00]: As you can imagine, these guys have not seen a civilian woman in a month. 11:10 [SPEAKER_00]: While some gawk and appreciate her beauty, two others were thinking nasty things, and not just thinking, but actively planning something heinous. 11:22 [SPEAKER_00]: As this was a full day event, people were drifting in and out, going around the base. 11:28 [SPEAKER_00]: These two young men continue to keep an eye on this young woman, and when they saw their chance, they took it. 11:34 [SPEAKER_00]: Her boyfriend happened to get called away for a bit, and seen that she was on her own. 11:39 [SPEAKER_00]: The two either lured her away or forcibly took her, while no one was watching. 11:45 [SPEAKER_00]: The ended up dragging her to the bathrooms in the west side of the building, as it was further away from the crowds, and empty. 11:53 [SPEAKER_00]: and you can guess what happens next. 11:56 [SPEAKER_00]: The two young men sexually assault and rape her, but if they let her go, wouldn't they get caught immediately? 12:03 [SPEAKER_00]: So as many men do in such cases, they choose to end her life brutally. 12:08 [SPEAKER_00]: She was later found in the bathroom, drenched them blood, and of course, dead. 12:14 [SPEAKER_00]: I'm sure this incident, even if not true, does not sound fake. 12:18 [SPEAKER_00]: Women are salted and raped all around the world, some even murdered after the fact, but what happened after is more of a maybe, maybe not. 12:29 [SPEAKER_00]: Culturally, Taiwanese people are very superstitious. 12:32 [SPEAKER_00]: If a life is taken violently, these spirits will remain either fully or partially, as a harbor regret or anger, or both. 12:41 [SPEAKER_00]: Many new soldiers who arrive at the space are told to not go into the west side bathroom. 12:47 [SPEAKER_00]: Some sighting that weird things happened there, another simply saying that it's unsafe and to just use another bathroom. 12:54 [SPEAKER_00]: Either way, if we do find yourself in need of going, go fast, but never go at night. 13:01 [SPEAKER_00]: Some people reported hearing the sound of a woman sobbing coming from a general direction. 13:06 [SPEAKER_00]: Some others who dare to go in and find nothing, instead end up having nightmares at same night, some even feeling their legs pulled, or their blankets being thrown off them. 13:17 [SPEAKER_00]: While some truly believe in the existence of the Spirit, some others say that this is just a tactic that their superiors use to control them. 13:27 [SPEAKER_00]: Perhaps they made up the story to keep these young men in line, while possible, are you 13:36 [SPEAKER_00]: I know I'm not. 13:39 [SPEAKER_00]: Many different sources have come across have reported about this woman in the bathroom. 13:44 [SPEAKER_00]: And knowing how many sources have talked about this, I feel like there might be some truth in all of this. 13:51 [SPEAKER_00]: For our third tale, let's hop on over to Hong Kong, where we dive into a story involving their transportation system, DMTR, or the mass transit railway. 14:03 [SPEAKER_00]: The system began in the year 1910 and has been running for over a hundred years now. 14:08 [SPEAKER_00]: So as such a long history, there's bound to be a few weird stories. 14:13 [SPEAKER_00]: The station we are discussing today is Yelma Taestation. 14:18 [SPEAKER_00]: formerly known as Waterloo, as it is located on Waterloo Road, not to be confused with Waterloo Station in London. 14:27 [SPEAKER_00]: Construction on this station was completed in the late 1970s, and currently you can arrive at the station via two different train lines. 14:36 [SPEAKER_00]: but what really happened? 14:38 [SPEAKER_00]: Let's travel back in time to November 11 of 1981. 14:42 [SPEAKER_00]: Trains were running as normal, passengers were waiting at the station, while others were stepping off the trains. 14:49 [SPEAKER_00]: On this day, a train was traveling from central station and was about to arrive when the conductor swore up and down that he saw a young girl leap down into the tracks. 15:01 [SPEAKER_00]: He attempted to stop the train and immediately 15:06 [SPEAKER_00]: While someone jumping into a train track is quite upsetting, but sadly not on herd of, this was not so straightforward. 15:14 [SPEAKER_00]: Despite the conductor's claims and the police search of the area, no trace of a woman was found anywhere. 15:21 [SPEAKER_00]: Not just that, but there were zero signs. 15:24 [SPEAKER_00]: No clothing items, no personal belongings, no blood, no body. 15:30 [SPEAKER_00]: The conductor was very sure of what he saw. 15:33 [SPEAKER_00]: And not just that, he swore he felt the train hitting and running over something. 15:39 [SPEAKER_00]: And for a minute there, the scent of blood was also present. 15:43 [SPEAKER_00]: While not necessarily saying he made this up, could he have perhaps hallucinated the whole thing? 15:49 [SPEAKER_00]: Maybe he was too tired and saw something that wasn't there? 15:53 [SPEAKER_00]: Seeing as one thing, could his mind have filled in the blanks for all the other senses? 15:59 [SPEAKER_00]: But the other strange thing is that he was not the only one who allegedly witnessed this. 16:04 [SPEAKER_00]: Multiple other passengers, like the ones waiting on the platform, also supposedly witnessed this. 16:10 [SPEAKER_00]: But just from a different angle. 16:13 [SPEAKER_00]: Everyone was on edge, terrified. 16:17 [SPEAKER_00]: Was it collective hallucination or something else? 16:22 [SPEAKER_00]: I guess anything is technically possible, right? 16:26 [SPEAKER_00]: While this makes for a great ghost story, there is a way people managed to explain this away. 16:31 [SPEAKER_00]: Assuming every witness was being truthful about what they saw. 16:35 [SPEAKER_00]: Well, yes, it is possible a girl could have accidentally fallen or even jumped onto the tracks. 16:41 [SPEAKER_00]: She may have gotten lucky and landed between the gaps, shielding her from the oncoming train. 16:47 [SPEAKER_00]: And perhaps during the chaos out in suit, she managed to climb up elsewhere onto the tracks onto the platform and left discreetly. 16:58 [SPEAKER_00]: That is still a very scary situation, but also quite possible, and perhaps more likely 17:05 [SPEAKER_00]: Maybe it was a case of mass hallucination, or it could have been something less sinister. 17:11 [SPEAKER_00]: But it could also have been something else entirely, something more mysterious. 17:18 [SPEAKER_00]: Truth or fiction or something else, you decide. 17:23 [SPEAKER_00]: For tale number 4, let's take a quick trip to Malaysia and turn back time to the 1990s. 17:29 [SPEAKER_00]: Let's turn on the radio. 17:31 [SPEAKER_00]: It's late, but hey, your favorite radio DJ is on, taking calls and sharing ghost toys from various collars talking about their weird encounters. 17:41 [SPEAKER_00]: This one collar tonight though feels a little different. 17:45 [SPEAKER_00]: A man eventually calls in and the DJ asks him to share his story. 17:49 [SPEAKER_00]: The caller begins by telling the DJ that late at night. 17:53 [SPEAKER_00]: He was driving along the highway. 17:55 [SPEAKER_00]: His parents, his wife and his baby were all in the car, but they were all asleep. 18:01 [SPEAKER_00]: He was the only one awake. 18:04 [SPEAKER_00]: He continued driving, but at some point, he also began to feel sleepy. 18:09 [SPEAKER_00]: As he was struggling to keep his eyes open, he was suddenly jerked awake. 18:14 [SPEAKER_00]: He saw a massive Lori coming at him from up ahead, on the wrong side of the highway. 18:20 [SPEAKER_00]: One of its headlights was broken. 18:22 [SPEAKER_00]: so he saw one singular bright headlight pointed out his face. 18:27 [SPEAKER_00]: They both did a quick serve, and while no one was hurt, the color said he felt the car sway and rock due to the Lori's speed. 18:35 [SPEAKER_00]: Once the Lori passed, the color said he began to collect the thoughts. 18:39 [SPEAKER_00]: But before he was calm down, he saw the Lori appear in front of his car again. 18:46 [SPEAKER_00]: For the second time, the Laurie did the exact same thing, then it happened again, and again. 18:53 [SPEAKER_00]: The caller said that he was extremely unnerved at this point, and he couldn't explain what was happening. 18:59 [SPEAKER_00]: After a few times, the Laurie finally stopped appearing in front of him. 19:03 [SPEAKER_00]: He admitted he had no idea what was happening, and what were the odds that multiple one headlighted Lori could appear like this, one after another, and all driving on the wrong side of the highway. 19:15 [SPEAKER_00]: When he thought this was finally over, he suddenly saw a blinding light coming up behind them. 19:21 [SPEAKER_00]: It was Delory, but this time it was coming up from behind, and getting closer by the second. 19:28 [SPEAKER_00]: He told the DJ he began to panic all over again, so his natural response at the time was to speed up, hoping he could put some space, some distance between his car and the Lori that now appeared to be chasing him. 19:43 [SPEAKER_00]: As he was going over a hill, he noticed too late that another car was coming straight at him. 19:48 [SPEAKER_00]: The collar set that he's for violently, which resulted in him losing control of the car. 19:54 [SPEAKER_00]: Ultimately, his car crashed through the barriers, and fell into the abyss below. 20:00 [SPEAKER_00]: The DJ was entranced, but also saddened by this collar story. 20:05 [SPEAKER_00]: Before he could ask any questions about this strange lorry, though, the collar continued on. 20:11 [SPEAKER_00]: He said that, since then, he's been extremely depressed as everyone in the car was killed, himself included, then he hung up. 20:22 [SPEAKER_00]: How would you react to this collar? 20:25 [SPEAKER_00]: Of course, like most people, the DJ assumed that this was a prank. 20:29 [SPEAKER_00]: He gathered himself and continued on with the show, reassuring his listeners that this collar was definitely a prankster and a very good one. 20:38 [SPEAKER_00]: But the next day, a tragic story began circulating the news channels. 20:42 [SPEAKER_00]: A family of five had driven into the highway barriers and fallen into a ravine, killing everyone on board. 20:49 [SPEAKER_00]: A husband. 20:50 [SPEAKER_00]: His wife, his parents. 20:53 [SPEAKER_00]: And his baby. 20:55 [SPEAKER_00]: The DJ was shocked, so immediately went to his recording archives to search up the call, hoping he could listen to it again. 21:04 [SPEAKER_00]: While he did find it, when he tried to replay the phone call, he was met with complete silence. 21:12 [SPEAKER_00]: What are your thoughts on this story? 21:14 [SPEAKER_00]: One of my favorite elements in horror is the use of media. 21:18 [SPEAKER_00]: Television, tapes, radio, or the internet. 21:22 [SPEAKER_00]: Strange phone calls. 21:23 [SPEAKER_00]: Shows that don't exist, but you somehow remember. 21:27 [SPEAKER_00]: Websites that don't make any sense. 21:30 [SPEAKER_00]: Could this be the man calling to relay history on what happened? 21:34 [SPEAKER_00]: Or could this simply have been a prank? 21:36 [SPEAKER_00]: And the car accident, a coincidence. 21:40 [SPEAKER_00]: While highly unlikely, I still think anything is possible. 21:44 [SPEAKER_00]: We've seen strange coincidences, but this one would be one in a million. 21:50 [SPEAKER_00]: More all the story. 21:51 [SPEAKER_00]: Be safe while driving, especially when you're driving at night. 21:57 [SPEAKER_00]: Our last story takes us to Japan, and this is something I've been meaning to talk about for years, but never got around to. 22:05 [SPEAKER_00]: A friend of mine showed me this YouTube video years ago, and I've never been able to get it out of my head. 22:10 [SPEAKER_00]: So now I'm passing it on to you. 22:13 [SPEAKER_00]: While this case screams of true crime on the surface, it actually feels a little bit more urban legendy, as you get towards the end. 22:21 [SPEAKER_00]: At least, that's how I feel. 22:24 [SPEAKER_00]: It's a bit lengthy, so please bear with me. 22:27 [SPEAKER_00]: In the year 1993, Arashi Mayumi was a 26-year-old mother and a wife. 22:34 [SPEAKER_00]: At the time she lived with her husband and her baby, and later that year she was pregnant with her second child. 22:41 [SPEAKER_00]: In the year 1994, she decided to go stay with her parents and Tokyo's Sumida Award. 22:47 [SPEAKER_00]: Miami was set to have been very thin and frail, thus requiring more care during pregnancy. 22:52 [SPEAKER_00]: So by moving back in with her parents, her mother and older sister could help look after her. 22:59 [SPEAKER_00]: Miami gave birth to her second child, as she continued staying with her parents, and older sister, Yoko, planning to return to her husband after she felt fully recovered. 23:10 [SPEAKER_00]: Up until this point, everything seemed pretty ordinary, mundane, but things took a strange turn in September of 1994. 23:20 [SPEAKER_00]: On September 2nd, 1994, Maumi left her parents home in a hurry, telling them that she had made plans with the girlfriend of hers. 23:28 [SPEAKER_00]: She never mentioned where she was going, but she did tell them who the friend was. 23:33 [SPEAKER_00]: That would be Maumi's last confirmed sighting. 23:36 [SPEAKER_00]: Maumi never returned home. 23:39 [SPEAKER_00]: It's unlike Maumi to leave like this, not telling anyone where she was going or that she wasn't coming home. 23:50 [SPEAKER_00]: Turns out this friend said that they had not met up. 23:53 [SPEAKER_00]: Not only that, the two had never made any plans to meet up the previous night. 23:58 [SPEAKER_00]: So that's pretty strange. 24:00 [SPEAKER_00]: Now you meet family immediately filed a missing person's report and the police got involved. 24:06 [SPEAKER_00]: Naomi had left her home on the second with her purse containing her wallet, keys, and cigarettes. 24:12 [SPEAKER_00]: The rest of her belongings were all left at home. 24:15 [SPEAKER_00]: No closer missing, nothing that stood out to anyone. 24:19 [SPEAKER_00]: It didn't seem like Naomi planned to run away, or to stay out for more than a few hours. 24:25 [SPEAKER_00]: If that was the case, where did she go, or what happened to her? 24:30 [SPEAKER_00]: According to the sister Yoko, a few things did not add up. 24:35 [SPEAKER_00]: First off, a man whom we were referred to as A had called the home phone a few times, and on the evening of the second. 24:42 [SPEAKER_00]: Yoko apparently was the only one who answered these calls from this person, and she had told them that my Yumi was not home. 24:51 [SPEAKER_00]: Per Yoko, she knew who he was, so he wasn't a complete stranger to the family. 24:57 [SPEAKER_00]: Secondly, Yoko said that she went through my Yumi's personal belongings, hoping that something could provide a clue as to what she was up to, or maybe her whereabouts. 25:08 [SPEAKER_00]: She said she found a note written by my Yumi. 25:11 [SPEAKER_00]: In the note, my Yumi had stated that she betrayed her husband, and was seeing A behind his back. 25:17 [SPEAKER_00]: but now A has also betrayed her. 25:20 [SPEAKER_00]: She ended the note by apologizing. 25:23 [SPEAKER_00]: She also left the phone number, which Yoko realized was the same number A had called from multiple times. 25:30 [SPEAKER_00]: So what is the connection here? 25:33 [SPEAKER_00]: Yoko told the police about A and the note, so the police paid A a visit. 25:38 [SPEAKER_00]: He appeared to be forthcoming, confirming that, yes, he had met up with my Yumi on the morning of the second, but that was the last time he saw her, and he had no idea where she could be. 25:50 [SPEAKER_00]: He did, however, say something very odd. 25:53 [SPEAKER_00]: Basically, if my Yumi's dead, I might go to prison. 25:58 [SPEAKER_00]: Strange, why would anyone say that, and what could this mean? 26:03 [SPEAKER_00]: While the police did find a rather suspicious, they had nothing tying him to Miami's disappearance so they couldn't arrest or charge him. 26:12 [SPEAKER_00]: They could only keep an eye on him and continue their investigation elsewhere. 26:17 [SPEAKER_00]: As for Yoko, she was adamant that A had something to do with her sister's disappearance and she was determined to prove it. 26:25 [SPEAKER_00]: She ended up hiring a private investigator in May of 1995, and according to her, the PI followed A to a secluded forest, where he entered with two sodas, suggesting he may have been meeting someone in the middle of the night. 26:40 [SPEAKER_00]: In the middle of nowhere, this, however, led nowhere, while Yumi was still missing, and no new leads showed up. 26:49 [SPEAKER_00]: Years went by, and now it's the year 2011. 26:54 [SPEAKER_00]: A Japanese TV show, SuperJ channel, a TV program that discusses current events, news and general life and cultural happenings, decided to revisit this case. 27:05 [SPEAKER_00]: They visited the family home, interviewed both Yoko and Maimese father. 27:10 [SPEAKER_00]: Yoko took this opportunity to again bring up the note she found and her suspicions surrounding A. 27:16 [SPEAKER_00]: The episode was wrapped up and eventually aired on TV, but soon after, viewers noticed 27:24 [SPEAKER_00]: It's honestly very easy to miss, but if you watch the segment where Yoko's father shows up for a brief second, there's a piece of paper taped on the bookshelf behind him. 27:35 [SPEAKER_00]: On the paper it says, do not believe Yoko's story or don't believe what Yoko says. 27:42 [SPEAKER_00]: What this note means, or if it was meant to send the secret message, is a complete mystery. 27:48 [SPEAKER_00]: Once the show caught wind of this, they pulled the segment. 27:52 [SPEAKER_00]: No explanation was ever provided for this. 27:56 [SPEAKER_00]: So what exactly is going on here? 28:04 [SPEAKER_00]: But if we consider the note that viewer saw, is the father somehow telling viewers to beware? 28:11 [SPEAKER_00]: who put that note there. 28:13 [SPEAKER_00]: A lot of the clues on quote-unquote discoveries made surrounding Miami's disappearance came from her sister, Yoko, and perhaps not entirely surprising, no one was ever able to back up Yoko's claims. 28:26 [SPEAKER_00]: The note she found saying Miami admitted to cheating, Yoko said she threw it away. 28:32 [SPEAKER_00]: The private investigator she hired, she was unable to provide more details. 28:37 [SPEAKER_00]: Any information the police received, mostly came from Yoko, and they were pretty one-sided, unverifiable. 28:44 [SPEAKER_00]: What does this mean? 28:46 [SPEAKER_00]: There is a ton of internet discussion about this strange case. 28:50 [SPEAKER_00]: Some felt that Yoko's actions were strange, almost as if she was basking in the attention of having a missing sister. 28:57 [SPEAKER_00]: Some people that allegedly went to school with Yoko had even said that Yoko has a tendency to lie. 29:04 [SPEAKER_00]: Does she make up some of the information to try and make it interesting to get more attention? 29:10 [SPEAKER_00]: More importantly, are the parents aware of this and left a note there on purpose hoping somebody would catch it? 29:17 [SPEAKER_00]: No one related to this case has ever provided further explanation. 29:22 [SPEAKER_00]: So this is the part where it sort of dives into urban legend territory. 29:26 [SPEAKER_00]: What we do know is that my umi is a real person. 29:30 [SPEAKER_00]: She was listed for many years as a missing person on Japan's missing person search site MPS. 29:36 [SPEAKER_00]: Her profile page has since been archived. 29:39 [SPEAKER_00]: And if we try to find her listing, it only shows a black standard profile silhouette with the description, quote, thank you for your cooperation, unquote. 29:49 [SPEAKER_00]: If my umi's case was indeed resolved, we have no way to know the how, when or who. 29:55 [SPEAKER_00]: Some people believed this whole secret note and Yoko's suspicious behavior was staged, but why would anyone do this and, for what purpose? 30:04 [SPEAKER_00]: No one got famous or rich from this, and it was even rumored that Yoko herself went missing in 2013, few years after the segment aired. 30:14 [SPEAKER_00]: A good question is, what about the husband? 30:17 [SPEAKER_00]: Could he have done something? 30:19 [SPEAKER_00]: Perhaps after finding out that my Yumi was cheating on him? 30:23 [SPEAKER_00]: Nothing was ever revealed about the husband, which is a little strange, but perhaps he was rolled out. 30:30 [SPEAKER_00]: And what about this mysterious A? 30:32 [SPEAKER_00]: Could he have done something? 30:35 [SPEAKER_00]: What do you think happened here? 30:37 [SPEAKER_00]: Is this whole situation just a hoax for whatever reason? 30:42 [SPEAKER_00]: Or could it be half-truth, half-fiction? 30:45 [SPEAKER_00]: Or was it a new story that just spun its way into a whole different thing? 30:51 [SPEAKER_00]: This is one of those cases that live rent free in my head, and I desperately hope that one day we will find out more. 30:59 [SPEAKER_00]: But if you know more, I really 31:05 [SPEAKER_00]: So there you have it. 31:07 [SPEAKER_00]: Five individual tales from Asia. 31:09 [SPEAKER_00]: Some feel rooted in truth and facts, while some others feel more like fiction. 31:14 [SPEAKER_00]: More fantastical. 31:16 [SPEAKER_00]: Regardless of your stance on ghost, spirits, or the afterlife, there is always more out there that we do not know or understand. 31:25 [SPEAKER_00]: Maybe it could all be perfectly explained by science or logic, but until somebody does, I will continue to hold doubt and wonder for all things that could go bump in the night. 31:38 [SPEAKER_00]: Thank you for tuning in to this episode. 31:40 [SPEAKER_00]: I remember to be respectful, be kind, until next time.
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