This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/nannatsch on 2024-10-17 13:25:42+00:00.

A friend of ours went to Japan on September 20th to visit Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, and finally Wakayama. He didn’t buy a return flight, planning instead to see how far his budget would take him and buy a flight back when necessary. The last time we heard from him was on October 11th, when he was drunk at some bar in Wakayama.

Since he had been vlogging for his friends, we managed to track down the hostel he was staying at (approximate location: Kimiidera, Wakayama, Präfektur Wakayama 641-0012, Japan) but we haven’t been able to get the police to contact the owner yet to check if he ever checked out. edit: he did check out on the 10th - a day before he went to the bar where he was last heard of. His passport was found about 7km away from his hostel, north of Wakayamashi Station. His accommodation was south of the station. This makes us wonder if he might have been trying to leave Wakayama, maybe heading back to Tokyo or somewhere to fly home. But why was the passport found north of the station then? (location of his passport: 1-17 Tokudagichō, Wakayama, 640-8206, Japan)

We’ve contacted the embassy and both local and national police in Japan. We’ve also heard that the Japanese police can hold people in custody for up to 21 days without letting them contact family (is that even true?). The police have told us though, that he’s not in any prison or hospital in Japan. Do you think they might have lied to us due to privacy rules or something else? They also said they’ve sent out a search team in Wakayama to find him, which wouldn’t make sense if they already had him in custody.

Since Japan is generally a safe country and a passport is one of the most important things for a foreigner, it doesn’t make sense to me that someone would harm him and just leave his passport behind. If foul play were involved, wouldn’t that be the first thing someone would destroy?

Additionally, his best friend’s dad and his own dad have passed away and I genuinely don’t believe he would kill himself. I can’t imagine he’d do that to his family and friends. On top of that, he was starting a new study program back home and had already paid all his fees, so I don’t think he had any intention of going missing or planning to never return.

By the way, the last transaction from his bank account was on October 10th. He can’t be reached by phone and if he had simply lost it, I would think he could’ve gone to the police or logged into Wi-Fi using his iPad to contact us.

We’re really at a loss here. Do you have any idea of typical police procedures in Japan for finding a missing person? Or any suggestions on what else we can do to find him?

Thank you so much!

edit: I know this is a lot to ask for but if there is anyone in the Wakayama region who can speak Japanese and is willing to help us communicate with the authorities there, it would help us out so much!

edit: The Japanese police will call us tomorrow. We do not know why but we will not lose hope! I will update you.

missing person flyer: