Japanese police arrest woman for calling them 15,000 times

Japanese police said Thursday they have arrested a woman for calling them more than 15,000 times over a six-month period. Authorities repeatedly visited the 44-year-old and asked her to cease and desist. When she failed to stop making the calls, which started in May, police slapped handcuffs on her. "She made as many as 927 emergency calls in one day....disturbing our police duties," said an official in the city of Sakai, near the western city of Osaka. Authorities, who have so far ruled out mental illness for the woman's behavior, said her calls had "no real meaning". "She didn't make up a story that required us to respond -- it was just total nonsense," the official told Agence France Presse. "We visited her place about 60 times before arresting her, trying to persuade her not to call us again. I wonder if she was just lonely." The woman was charged with fraudulent obstruction of police business, which carries a maximum penalty of up to three years in prison or a fine of 500,000 yen ($4,900).