Suntory Time!

Japanese Teen Won’t Have to Repay Most of His $54,000 Bar Tab

Photo: Courtesy of American Express

After the after-party and the hotel lobby, there was, however, a court date: A judge in Japan has ruled that a 16-year-old who borrowed his father’s American Express Platinum card to buy a lot of drinks and attention of some “demurely” laughing girls one magical Kyoto night back in 2010 is not really at fault for having such a blast. The unnamed teenager reportedly visited a number of lounges with friends, ordering copious amounts of Suntory and Champagne (including a $3,700 bottle). In all, the party animals did approximately 5.5 million yen in damage, or roughly the equivalent of four fully funded knotweed pesto start-ups, two Burmese-French fusion food trucks, and one meatball-delivery bicycle on Kickstarter. The kid’s dad will only have to pay $7,900, though, because the girlie clubs and whiskey bars didn’t check his I.D. when they were busy starting a tab. The moral of this story seems to be that membership does in fact have its privileges. [AFP/News.com.au]

Japanese Teen Won’t Have to Repay Most of His $54,000 Bar Tab