Foreign Shoplifting Cases on the Rise Again as Latest Crackdown Reveals Shocking Scenes

“A Vietnamese man in his early 20s who was attending a Japanese language school allegedly learned how to shoplift and had items, colors, and even product specifications designated to him. He is believed to have repeatedly committed theft in cooperation with accomplices and shipped the goods back to his home country.”

“The majority of shoplifting cases involving foreign nationals are organized. Perpetrators are trained in advance in their home countries on how to identify stores with weak surveillance. They receive instructions from handlers specifying not only which popular products to steal, but also colors and sizes. Even if the same products are sold in their home country, items labeled ‘Made in Japan’ carry a premium and can be resold at higher prices,” explains Ito Yu, who has spent over 25 years capturing 6,000 shoplifters as a shoplifting G-man.

In the photo above, a man in his early 20s from Vietnam appears slumped in front of goods. He allegedly tried to steal condoms and razor blades hidden inside toilet paper while exiting a supermarket in Tokyo. Ito continues:

“He was acting suspicious, so we approached him, but he tried to flee, so we restrained him. He reportedly stored stolen goods in an apartment in Tokyo and shipped them to Vietnam once he had accumulated enough. He was a student at a Japanese language school. It appears he was receiving instructions from a handler in his home country and repeatedly shoplifted for resale purposes.”

According to the National Police Agency, crimes committed by foreign visitors to Japan had been declining since peaking at 47,865 cases in 2005. However, over the past three years they have increased again, reaching 25,480 cases last year, up 16.9% year-on-year. Theft accounts for nearly 70% of all cases (12,226 cases), making it the most common offense. The average loss per incident involving Japanese perpetrators is about 10,000 yen, but for foreign perpetrators it is close to 90,000 yen.

“Recently, so-called ‘gift shoplifting’ has become noticeable. People steal expensive perfumes and cosmetics, and when caught, they claim, ‘I wanted to give it as a gift to my partner but had no money,’ in an attempt to gain sympathy. Reactions after being caught vary—some women try to beg leniency by holding officers’ hands in a flirtatious manner, while some men violently resist and shove store staff,” says Ito.

Roles are often divided among multiple people, such as lookouts and those who distract staff, and crimes are increasingly carried out in groups. The methods of overseas criminal organizations targeting ‘Made in Japan’ products are becoming more diverse.