Asahi Shinbun salesman uses intimidating sales tactics

If you live in an urban area of Japan, you’ve probably had to deal with newspaper salesmen who come door to door in your area once every week or two. Their annoying persistence is probably one of the reasons why Japan’s major newspapers have such ridiculously huge subscription numbers. This TV news report highlights the actions of an Asahi Shinbun salesman who went a bit too far:

According to the report, a man tried to turn down an Asahi Shinbunr salesman named Suzuki by saying that a newspaper would just become trash for him. Suzuki became extremely angry at such a statement, accusing the man of calling his work “trash” and demanding that the man apologize and buy a subscription to the newspaper. After the man reported the incident to the police, Suzuki came back to his apartment in a rage, kicking on his door and shouting. Mr. Suzuki has since been arrested. When reporters asked other people in the neighborhood if they had similar experiences, they answered that Asahi Shinbun salesmen had used tactics such as claiming to be a deliverymen and initially announcing themselves as Yomiuri Shinbun salesmen (Yomiuri Shinbun is the most popular newspaper in Japan). Of 47 incidents involving newspaper salesmen reported to the police in that area between March and April, 22 of them involved the Asahi Shinbun.

Hearing reports like these kind of make me glad that the newspaper salesmen automatically assume I am illiterate, and give up on convincing me to buy papers, when they see my foreign face opening the door….