Japanese are ‘pickpocket targets’ in Paris: …… Local warning against ‘good-natured personalities’ and ‘group mentality

When I meet another Japanese, I am instantly caught off guard. People who were quietly looking around earlier will take their eyes off their valuables as soon as they are in a group, and to top it off, they will leave their luggage on the seat next to an empty one and get chatting with each other. That’s like saying, ‘Please steal from me’ over here. And even if there is someone suspicious, they are too good-natured to leave the scene, so the number of victims increases even more.

When I told him of my analysis, the policeman replied with a laugh, “If you make a fuss and leave your luggage unattended, it will be more likely to be damaged.

If you leave your luggage unattended while making a fuss, you will certainly be a target. I met a group of people who turned to me with a grin when I warned them that it was dangerous, and then continued chatting as if nothing had happened.

In fact, a reporter for a sports newspaper who visited Paris to cover the Olympics at the same time as the reporter had his company cell phone snatched on a subway train headed for the judo venue, while a photographer for a magazine lost his passport on a streetcar. Both were in the midst of discussing with their colleagues about the next competition they were going to cover.

Although it is the pickpockets who are at fault for the crimes, there is no doubt that Japanese people are taken advantage of and targeted.