Honest People in Japan

I am always happy to read about how lost money and items are turned in to be reunited with the owners in Japan.  Tokyo Police reported a record 4.49 BILLION yen in cash was turned in as lost property in 2024. This was up 1.8% from 2023. The largest single amount of cash turned in to the police department’s lost and found in 2024 was 11.6 million yen. 

Of the money turned in, about 3.2 billion yen was returned to various owners, while about 570 million yen was given to those who turned in the money. Around 660 million yen that was unclaimed became Tokyo Metropolitan government revenue. 

In addition to money, about 4.4 million items were turned in. This is up 7.8 % from 2023 and a record high. Drivers licenses and identification documents made up the majority of items turned in, at about 830,000. The police department reported that there was a large increase in electronic items, such as wireless earphones and e-cigarettes. 

Have you ever lost something and had it returned to you? I left a hat on the bus in Hokkaido and was able to get it back the same day. My students told me various stories about losing wallets or phones or keys when drinking and getting the items back.

Online System for Lost and Found Items to be Launched by March 2027

"Finders Keepers, Losers Weepers", was the phrase I heard often as a child in the United States. Not true in Japan! In addition to people being very honest, Japan is just amazing when it comes to lost and found. Found items, including wallets, phones, and other things of value are routinely turned in to the local police station so the the person who lost the item can get it back.  

The Japan National Police Agency plans to introduce a unified lost and found database by March 2027 that will allow users to search online for items lost anywhere in Japan. Police departments will be able to record details of the found items, in addition to the date, time, and location they were found. Owner will be able to access the system therough the NPA website to search the system, rather than contacting each individual police station.

There were over three and a half million reports of lost property made to Japanese Police in 2021, and over 17 million reports for found items the same year.  The online system should help owners reunite with their lost items even better. The system will be launched at ten prefectural police stations in March 2023 before going nationwide by March 2027.

Lost in 2019

This is another "statistics in Japan" type post.  I am always amazed by how honest people, in general, are in Japan.  The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department reports that in 2019, 4.2 million lost items were turned into police stations, up 0.3% from the year before.  This included 3.9 billion yen in cash, an increase of 1.2% from the previous year. This was the highest amount handed in on record and the fourth consecutive year the amount of cash rose.  

Of the non-cash items turned in were 770,000 ID documents such as drivers licenses; 560,000 items of financial value such as smart cards, commuter passes, and gift certificates; 491,000 items of clothing and footwear; 372,000 wallets, and 349,000 umbrellas. A total of 248,000 cell phones were lost or misplaced in Tokyo, which works out to be almost 670 a day!  Of those, 153,000 were handed in to the police and 126,000 eventually returned to their owners.

According to the National Police Agency, items not claimed after three months by the original owner, go to the finder.  If after a further two months, the finder does not claim ownership, ownership passes to the prefecture.  Of the 3.9 billion yen in cash handed in to Tokyo police stations, 2.8 billion yen was returned to the original owners, 540 million yen went to the finders, and 492 million passed to the prefecture. 

I try to be careful not to lose anything, but I feel good knowing that if I did, I would probably get it back.  Have you ever lost anything of value and had it returned?