Raincoat thief arrested for stealing ponchos to satisfy fetish

Japan, the land of countless otaku, all passionate about a niche fandom. Also Japan, the land of a thousand fetishes — including some you didn’t know existed.

Like the humble raincoat. Sure, latex-style clothing is a must for bondage fans. Who doesn’t love the look and feel of tight rubber gear on a sexy body?

But we’re talking basic rain protection here. What’s so hot about it?

Well, in the case of one particular man in Osaka, a lot. So much so that he stole 360 women’s raincoats — and must now face the consequences for it.

Yoshida Yoda is not, despite the name, a wizened Jedi living a swamp but a 51-year-old man in Osaka who works as a newspaper deliveryman.

For Yoda, a woman wearing a plastic poncho on a rainy day was, in his own words, “as sexy as seeing a woman in lingerie.” He would follow women on bikes wearing such raincoats or snoop out bicycles on wet days in the hope of stealing such ponchos that had been left in the basket or seat.

His pursuit of his fetish has been ongoing since 2009. Over the course of that until his arrest on September 22, he had amassed 360 raincoats swiped from unsuspecting women. Police, who showed off his impressive hoard to the press, believe that 320 of these were taken during the “hardcore” period from December 2013 to May this year, a veritable season of raincoat thievery that had left investigators stumped over the identity and motives of what they dubbed the “raincoat man.”

He is also accused of stealing cash on the same instances as swiping the raincoats. In all, Yoda’s involvement is alleged in 115 cases.

We’re not sure what specifically led to Yoda’s downfall. Did he try to steal one raincoat too many? Did he take one risk too far in his desperate bid to satisfy his fetish — and get caught in the act? One thing’s certain: his reign as the Osaka raincoat thief is now over.