FILE No.35Unsolved
At 7 p.m., a company employee was attacked in an alley in Kawaramachi. One suspect, Yagi, claimed:
"From 6:30 to 8 p.m. I was eating in a ramen shop in front of the station. I have the receipt."
The receipt he showed read:
Date/time: 6:48 p.m.
Item: Ramen set, price before tax ¥1,000
Consumption tax (8%): ¥80
Total: ¥1,080
(In Japan, consumption tax on food and drink is 10% when eaten in the shop and the reduced rate of 8% for takeout. This puzzle was written in October 2026.)
What is wrong with Yagi’s claim?
If you get stuck, open the hints one at a time, in order.
What tax rate is on the receipt?
What is the tax rate for dining in?
Does the total match the dine-in case?
What is wrong with Yagi’s claim?
Choose the answer closest to the truth.
It was takeout
The answer is “it was takeout.”
The tax on food and drink is 10% for dining in and the reduced 8% for takeout. Yagi’s receipt shows ¥1,000 plus 8% tax, total ¥1,080. That is the takeout treatment. If he had eaten in the shop, the total should have been ¥1,100 (10% tax). The tax rate on the receipt is evidence that Yagi was not inside the shop.
When there is a receipt, you tend to assume it is proof he was in the shop.
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