【Epitaph of Banknotes】(1) #CreativeAward2025 #EntertainmentOriginalWorkCategory
Synopsis
In October, Tokyo suddenly fell into dysfunction. ATMs and electronic money stopped, prices skyrocketed, and logistics were paralyzed. Yuto, an ordinary office worker, decides to head for his parents' home in Hachioji to escape the chaos.
Family and friends work together to stand up against rioters and robbers. To secure food and shelter, they face one threat after another in a world where humanity has been lost. To protect his loved ones, Yuto is forced into a desperate battle for survival. This is a short panic survival story set in a Tokyo in extreme conditions.
Page Links
Epitaph of Banknotes (1) [Synopsis, Prologue, Chapter 1]
Epitaph of Banknotes (2) [Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4]
Epitaph of Banknotes (3) [Chapter 5, Chapter 6, Chapter 8, Chapter 9]
Epitaph of Banknotes (4) [Chapter 10, Chapter 11, Chapter 12, Chapter 13, Epilogue]
Prologue: Today or Tomorrow
October 13th, 9:30 PM
The night in Tokyo was swaying with waves of anxiety. The exchange rate plummeted overnight from 1 dollar = 200 yen to 1 dollar = 300 yen. ATMs stopped due to a "system error," and Suica, credit cards, and QR payments were unresponsive. People without cash were stranded at convenience stores and stations, and hashtags like "#YenPlunge" and "#ATMTrouble" dominated the trends on social media. Headlines about a Swiss shock or the return of the Asian financial crisis began to line up in online news.
People pretended to be calm, but they had expressions that suggested they wanted to believe that everything was normal, that nothing was wrong.
10:00 PM, Prime Minister's Official Residence
The Crisis Management Center was wrapped in a suffocating atmosphere. The Prime Minister lowered his voice in front of his cabinet ministers and the Deputy Governor of the Bank of Japan. "Stop the hedge fund attacks. Put together a concrete plan to stop the yen's collapse and restore the system by tonight."
The counterattack decided at the emergency cabinet meeting during the day had hit a dead end in the 9:30 PM report.
A Ministry of Finance bureaucrat reported in an exhausted voice, "We brought the yen back to 260 yen temporarily with a 3 trillion yen currency intervention, but the hedge fund's selling pressure is accelerating again. Fake debt data is fueling market chaos."
A Financial Services Agency technician slumped his shoulders. "Major bank ATMs and electronic money servers are overloaded due to a DDoS attack. We are proceeding with security reconstruction, but restoration will be after noon tomorrow at the earliest."
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs representative looked down. "Moody's maintains the downgrade citing 'Japan's fiscal risk.' They have no intention of investigating the fake data allegations and have turned us away."
Social media posts appeared at the bottom of the monitor: "#WhatIsThePMOdoing," "Bank of Japan completely defeated by funds."
The Prime Minister frowned upon seeing an anonymous account write, "Hedge funds leaked fake data to rating agencies and intentionally crushed the yen. The PMO's movements are being leaked." "Information leakage? Ministry of Finance, Financial Services Agency, start an internal investigation immediately."
A secretary whispered, "Some cabinet ministers have a history of contact with fund-related companies... the investigation should be handled carefully." A heavy silence flowed through the conference room, and the Prime Minister clenched his fists. "Public trust... it will collapse if things continue like this."
10:30 PM, Shinjuku Streets
Outside a convenience store, the line in front of the ATM had swelled to 50 people. A salaryman pressed a temporarily dispatched security guard. "I can't withdraw cash! When will it be fixed?"
At Shinjuku Station, failures occurred in charging Suica and PASMO. Some office workers stranded at the ticket gates were protesting to station staff. "Electronic money can't be charged online. How am I supposed to get home?" Police officers guided them calmly, and while the chaos did not escalate into a riot, voices of dissatisfaction echoed in the night air.
Social media was overflowing with citizen frustration. "ATM stopped, zero cash on hand. What am I supposed to do tomorrow?" "I can't withdraw money! In the meantime, the yen is becoming worthless!" One post contained a text allegedly leaked by a hedge fund: "Fabricated Japan's debt data to induce a downgrade. The yen is sinking as planned."
The television broadcast the latest statement from the Prime Minister's Office. "The government is exploring international cooperation and will do its utmost to stabilize the yen and restore the system. We ask all citizens not to be misled by rumors and to make calm judgments."
However, the social media comments were cold. "What can you do in the middle of the night?" "Those who are sleeping now are happy. Because the hell is coming tomorrow, not today."
Chapter 1: Signs of Collapse
October 14th, 7:00 AM, Tokyo Home
Yuto Sato woke up to his smartphone alarm. Usually, this was the time he would hear his wife, Misaki, preparing breakfast in the kitchen. But today, it was quiet. From the living room TV, an NHK anchor repeated in a stiff voice, "Major banks restrict cash withdrawals." In the bottom right of the screen, a red ticker flowed mercilessly: "1 dollar exceeds 500 yen."
Yuto jumped out of bed and opened his bank app. The balance screen only displayed "System Error" and would not move.
He headed to the living room, where his wife, Misaki, was standing with her mouth half-open, watching the TV. "Good morning. Yuto, did you see the news? Is the company okay?" she asked while still staring at the screen. The company Yuto worked for developed industrial drones. However, this morning's news reported that while the PMO denied the "US-China new currency" as a rumor, they had begun discussions with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
A comment from the Vice Minister of Finance played. "IMF support will take time. The conditions are also likely to be strict." Even in Japan's main industries, funding was in crisis due to the weak yen and payment suspensions. Without feeling the reality of it, he began his morning preparations.
8:20 AM, Workplace Office
When Yuto arrived at his workplace office, the building entrance was already in an uproar. "Is the yen dead?" "Is such a thing possible? There wasn't even a sign of it yesterday!" "Do you know about the US-China new currency, Amero?"
Employees were gathering and exchanging opinions.
On his desk PC monitor was one email from the president. "To all employees. As of today, we are temporarily suspending operations. The resumption date is undecided." His career ended in just one line.
8:30 AM, Shinjuku Office District
Yuto Sato left the entrance of his workplace building and stepped into the Shinjuku scramble crossing. The president's email—"To all employees. As of today, we are temporarily suspending operations. The resumption date is undecided."—echoed in his head. Could the years he dedicated to industrial drone development end so easily?
He gripped his smartphone and opened the bank app again, but only the words "System Error" shone coldly. He had 30,000 yen and some coins in his wallet.
He tried scanning the PayPay QR code as usual to buy a drink from a vending machine, but there was no response at all. He gave up and inserted cash, and finally, a bottle of mineral water came out. "Thank goodness..." a sigh of relief escaped him. Seeing this, people rushed in, and a long line formed in front of the vending machine in an instant. Yuto bought another one with cash and left the scene to avoid the surrounding commotion. The intersection showed a different face than usual. The giant advertising screens displayed a blue screen due to a "communication error," and the LED traffic lights were blinking irregularly.
In front of bank counters and ATMs, a line of over 100 people had already formed, and the voices of frustrated office workers pressing security guards echoed. "Charging doesn't work either. Cash cards can't be used, and when will the ATMs be fixed? I can't get home without cash!" Yuto gripped his wallet, wondering if he should join the line, but his family's faces flashed through his mind. "Misaki and Ayaka are waiting. First, food..."
10:00 AM, Shinjuku Station Area
The ticket gates at Shinjuku Station were wrapped in chaos as if time had stopped. Students and office workers who couldn't use Suica or PASMO were stranded in front of the charging machines, pressing security guards. "You know about the new currency talk, right?" "What am I supposed to do if electronic money is dead!" Police officers guided them calmly with megaphones, but the voices of anxiety did not subside.
Yuto rushed to a convenience store in front of the station, but the shelves were already almost empty. The cup noodle section was wiped out, only torn packaging remained on the bread shelves, and there wasn't a single plastic bottle in the drink refrigerator. He found two dusty tuna cans next to the register and bought them by crushing a few thousand-yen bills from his 30,000 yen. The clerk's tired eyes and the angry shouts of customers echoing behind him remained in his ears.
His smartphone notification rang, and when he opened social media, posts about "#YenPlunge" and "#Amero" flooded in like a deluge. A post from an anonymous account caught his eye. "Hedge funds fabricated Japan's debt data. A plan to crush the yen and force a new currency. The PMO is helpless." The comment section was a chain of panic: "Are you serious?" "The ATM down is a precursor to that." Yuto stopped scrolling and furrowed his brows. "It might be a rumor. But... this chaos is real."
12:00 PM, Kabukicho Back Alley
Yuto, who had left the convenience store, headed to a discount store in search of food, but the situation had worsened. In the back alleys of Kabukicho, many stores had their shutters down. There was an "Admission Restricted" sign at the entrance of his target store. However, people were rushing into the entrance. Dozens of people who managed to get inside were throwing the remaining products into their baskets as if fighting over them. Yuto watched from afar as a middle-aged man holding a bag of rice was shoved by another customer, scattering rice grains on the floor, and muttered, "This is going to turn into a riot..." A clerk shouted, "Two items per person! Please calm down!" But the customers' eyes were like beasts hunting prey. Yuto left the store without putting anything in his basket at the entrance.
The atmosphere of the city had changed completely. The price display at the gas station was handwritten. "1 liter 1,800 yen." Even so, there was a line of regular cars waiting to refuel—while they lined up for the soaring fuel, trucks and taxis were abandoned on the shoulder. The suspension of logistics was becoming a reality, and the speed at which supermarket shelves were emptying was accelerating.
A message from his wife, Misaki, arrived on Yuto's smartphone. "The supermarket was empty. But we have cup noodles and instant food at home. I filled the bathtub with water, okay? Come home soon." Yuto felt his chest tighten as he typed his reply. "I'm coming home now. Stay with Ayaka." He replied and started running.
3:00 PM, Moving toward Shibuya
Yuto headed toward a shopping street in the Shibuya area to get something for his family. But the changes in the city were even more pronounced. Most of the shutters on the shopping street were down. Even the open stores were covered in "Cash Only" and "Out of Stock" signs.
On the street, a young man was shouting, "Water, 5,000 yen a bottle!" while selling plastic bottles, but everyone passed by with suspicious eyes.
Yuto tried lining up at a convenience store ATM, but even after waiting 5 minutes, the screen remained on "System Error." The woman next to him muttered, "They say the bank has frozen deposits... Did my savings disappear?" Yuto lost his words and left the line. Economic activity was visibly beginning to collapse. People without cash were stranded at stations and convenience stores, logistics stopped so trucks weren't moving, gas stations were sold out and deserted. Electricity was still alive, but the instability of the city's electronic billboards and traffic lights spoke to the fragility of the infrastructure.
On social media, the hashtags "#LogisticsStopped" and "#FoodCrisis" were skyrocketing, and citizen posts fueled the fear. "Supermarkets wiped out. They say water outages are coming soon too." "The PMO apparently begged the IMF, but it's too late." Yuto gripped his smartphone and thought of his family's faces. "At this rate, I can't stay in Tokyo..."
5:00 PM, Tokyo Residential Area
On his way home from Shibuya, Yuto noticed the eerie silence of the residential area. At a time of day when children's laughter and car horns usually echoed, the window blinds were closed, and people on the street were hurrying home.
The convenience store trash cans were overflowing, and abandoned bicycles were knocked over. An ambulance siren echoed intermittently in the distance, tightening Yuto's heart. "Ayaka must be scared..."
He approached the neighborhood supermarket with his last hope, but the shutters were closed, and only a "Sold Out" sign swayed in the wind. He hurried home with sweat on his forehead.