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Tokyo: Japan's most-wanted fugitive has been eluding police for nearly a month. He slips urban dragnets. He runs through crowded train stations, shocking commuters. He even urinates in public.
That may not be too surprising — since the culprit is a wild monkey.
The cheeky, red-faced primate has been giving Tokyo authorities a headache since it showed up on city streets a few weeks ago, repeatedly eluding capture by net-wielding police. "This monkey is driving us crazy," said Tadayoshi Toyama, police official in the Tokyo neighbourhood of Kanda, where the monkey was seen last weekend. "It's so agile, and we only have catch nets."
The primate — a Japanese macaque — first leapt to the national stage in August. It showed up in Tokyo's Shibuya station and gazed down at the crowd from atop a schedule board before deftly escaping dozens of police and dashing to a park. Since then, the monkey has been sighted repeatedly around Tokyo. But the animal always manages to slip away before police can catch it.
The monkey has not hurt anyone so far, and Tokyoites have been delighted rather than alarmed by its appearances.
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