Al Gore is a fortune teller. The Goracle is guilty of openly
predicting the future. Fortune telling is a criminal offense.
Futhermore, Al Gore has used his status as 'the Goracle' for self
enrichment on such a grand scale that he is guilty of criminal
racketeeing. Former Vice President Al Gore is a criminal who is guilty
of 'high crimes and misdeamers'.
Japanese fortune tellers come under increased scrutiny
6/1/2008 4:40:38 PM
McClatchy Newspapers
TOKYO -- Victims of fraudulent fortune-tellers are on the increase
with large sums of money changing hands after they have been told
their "spiritual powers" are at a low ebb.
Authorities contend that the popularity of some fortune-tellers and
spiritual advisers is one reason why people let down their guard and
suc***b to fraudulent ruses.
In many cases, fortune-tellers use psychological means to extort money
from those seeking advice.
One religious organization, Koun no Hikari, was ordered by the
Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry in March to close its "change of
fortunes" business, set up under the name of Taka****ma Ekidan Sohonbu,
which it suspected of using fraudulent means to obtain money from the
gullible.
In 2005, at a gathering organized by Koun no Hikari at a hotel in
Kanagawa Prefecture, a woman in her 70s sought the advice of a female
fortune-teller in regard to her eldest son's business.
The following exchange took place:
Fortune-teller: "Your son's spiritual power is waning and his life
force is weakening (a reference to her I Ching sticks)."
Woman: "How can he recover his spiritual power?"
Fortune-teller: "You should pay 1 million yen for a year's worth of
prayers."
Woman: "I can't afford that."
Fortune-teller: "Well let's give you a special discount then."
The fortune-teller reduced the amount to 730,000 yen and the following
day the woman withdrew this amount from her bank account and handed it
over.
"She may have taken advantage of my maternal feelings toward my
child," the woman lamented.
The following year, the woman attended a similar gathering organized
by another organization, during which she was told about a "decline in
spiritual power" by a male fortune-teller clad in haori and hakama --
a type of kimono worn by men. This time she handed over 500,000 yen.
In an interview with The Yomiuri ****mbun, the male fortune-teller
denied he had cheated the woman out of the money.
"It was an appropriate amount to cover prayers every morning and
evening with offerings of fruit and fish," he said.
Consumer consultation centers across the nation received 1,890
complaints in fiscal 2003 about schemes that make money out of
"changing the fortunes" of clients. This figure increased to 2,928 in
fiscal 2007.
A former fortune-teller of Taka****ma Ekidan Sohonbu said: "I became a
trainee around 1990. First of all, I was ordered to memorize a book of
actual examples used."
The book was a few centimeters thick. Only those who memorized the
book and passed a test based on it were allowed to attend the fortune-
telling meetings, the former fortune-teller said.
The book said that if the advice-seeker was a woman, the fortune-
teller should say, "You are possessed by the ghost of an unborn baby."
If the woman responded that she had never had a miscarriage or
abortion, the book told the fortune-teller to say, "Well, it must be
the ghost of your mother's lost baby."
The former fortune-teller said the praying fees were decided on a case-
by-case basis depending on how wealthy the advice-seeker appeared to
be.
At first the former fortune-teller thought that this was all there was
to fortune-telling, but doubts emerged after encountering many advice-
seekers racked with anxieties. This ultimately led to the decision to
quit the job.
The former fortune-teller said: "On one occasion, 30 fortune-tellers
earned more than 1 billion yen in 10 days. I think it's clear to many
of them that they're just doing it for the money."
Copies of the book of examples were found during inspections by the
ministry. But a member of Koun no Hikari said, "We never make fortune-
tellers say that the spiritual power of an advice-seeker is waning
without referring to the fortune-telling results."
Hiro**** Watanabe, a lawyer working for victims of emotionally
manipulative sales techniques, warned members of the public to be on
their guard.
"These businesses offering a change of fortunes are operated by
professionals with a deep knowledge of how to manipulate the emotions
of other people. Even if you are cautious, you can still end up being
cheated," he said.
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