220
submitted 1 week ago by aeronmelon@lemmy.world to c/til@lemmy.world

At around 1:00 a.m. on February 21, nine men wearing stockings and white gloves appeared in front of a janitor (38 years old at the time) who was on his night shift and threatened, "We will not steal or set fire. If you do nothing, we will not cause any harm." After that, they tied him to a chair with adhesive tape and plastic straps, locked him in the bathroom, and disappeared somewhere. Three hours later, when the janitor sensed that there was no sign of presence, he escaped from the bathroom on his own and came out to find that there were 447 desks and 9 chairs in the center of the playground, measuring 20 meters wide and 30 meters long.

The desks were arranged in the shape of the number 9 and the chairs arranged in the shape of a period next to the desks. Japanese news and the public spent days speculating what it meant. Theories from the occult to a protest of the Japanese government were seriously discussed on national TV.

In the end, the people involved were caught (all senior students of the school, the leader with a history of causing trouble) and the leader of the group admitted that he simply liked the number nine.

https://en.namu.wiki/w/%EC%84%B8%ED%83%80%EA%B0%80%EC%95%BC%20'9'%EC%9E%90%20%EC%82%AC%EA%B1%B4

top 16 comments
sorted by: hot top new old
[-] Thalion@lemmy.ca 78 points 1 week ago

Very disappointing they were caught

[-] slazer2au@lemmy.world 67 points 1 week ago

But of all the reasons to do it 'for the lulz' is the best one.

[-] acockworkorange@mander.xyz 59 points 1 week ago

"We will not steal or set fire. If you do nothing, we will not cause any harm."

And the janitor was just "ok, seems reasonable". Or maybe "not again..."

[-] caboose2006@lemmy.world 25 points 1 week ago

I ain't getting paid enough to protect company property, no matter the salary. Take it.

[-] quick_snail@feddit.nl 2 points 1 week ago
[-] sukhmel@programming.dev 2 points 1 week ago

It seems like no

[-] NOT_RICK@lemmy.world 36 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

Since the year is omitted from the post, this was in 1988

[-] unphazed@lemmy.world 6 points 1 week ago
[-] NOT_RICK@lemmy.world 2 points 1 week ago

Ah good find, didn’t notice that

[-] quediuspayu@lemmy.dbzer0.com 29 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

Oh! In Ghost in the Shell: Stand alone complex there's a sequence of laughing man logo appearances from all over the city, one of them is made with school desks in a rooftop if I remember correctly, it has to be a reference to this.

[-] Aqarius@lemmy.world 14 points 1 week ago

Public Security Section 9, you say?

[-] aeronmelon@lemmy.world 8 points 1 week ago

You are correct.

[-] Evil_Shrubbery 19 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

Idk, this feels like the cover story of something that was successfully secured, contained, and protected.

[-] axx@slrpnk.net 2 points 1 week ago

Spoken like a true conspiracy enthusiast.

Was probably Majestic 12.

[-] Evil_Shrubbery 1 points 1 week ago

The Illuminati runt??

[-] Contramuffin@lemmy.world 3 points 1 week ago

Other than locking the janitor in the bathroom, feels like a funny and harmless senior prank

this post was submitted on 27 Jan 2026
220 points (98.2% liked)

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