We all know that the security situation in Japanese society is relatively good, but since many places do not have cameras, thefts still happen frequently.
Theft, a crime that has been gradually decreasing in Japan with the spread of electronic payments and cameras, is still very common in Japan.
Although theft is a crime regardless of the amount of money, such a recent news in Japan still feels very unbelievable.
On April 20, police in Hokkaido, Japan, arrested a 27-year-old Chinese woman for stealing two ice creams from a convenience store.
The incident took place at a convenience store in Minami-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido, and the arrest on suspicion of theft was a Chinese woman (27) living in Chuo-ku, Sapporo City, who claimed to be a graduate student.
The woman is suspected of stealing two vanilla ice creams with cones (a total of 496 yen, equivalent to about 23 yuan) at a convenience store in Minami-ku, Sapporo City, at around 11:28 a.m. on April 20. ）
According to the police, the male manager of the store witnessed the whole process of the woman taking the ice cream, putting it in a carry-on bag, and leaving without payment.
The woman left the store in a hurry without paying in front of the cash register. When the store manager noticed her, she acted very nervous and unnatural. When the store manager tried to catch her, she actually started to run away.
So the store manager chased the woman around the store, and finally the store manager scolded her, the woman stopped, took out the stolen items from her bag, and the store manager immediately contacted the police.
When police arrived, they found that the woman had fled, but managed to apprehend her about nine hours after the incident.
The woman confessed to her theft during a police investigation, and police are still investigating her motive and whether she committed other crimes.
In fact, this is not the only news about theft that has been unbelievable recently, and it is just as unbelievable that something similar happened just a few days ago.
On April 8, also in Sapporo, Hokkaido, police had just arrested a 54-year-old Chinese woman who had stolen candy from a souvenir shop.
Here's what happened, the woman tried to steal two pieces of caramel at a souvenir shop near Sapporo Station at around 11:40 a.m. on April 8, and was found by security guards and then arrested by the police.
The two pieces of caramel cost only 464 yen (about 21 yuan), and a patrolling security guard spotted and caught her red-handed. The security guards told the police that they were looking for a burglar in his twenties and thirties, but they didn't expect to find out that the woman was also stealing.
But the woman did not admit to the theft after her arrest, claiming that she had come to Japan with her family and that she had forgotten to pay because she was worried about missing the bus, and that she did not intentionally steal.
But even though the woman pleaded so, the police arrested her and continued their investigation. After all, such a reason is really unconvincing, and combined with the description of the security guard, it doesn't feel like accidentally forgetting.
The stolen items in both news stories are not very valuable or money, but more like petty theft than a deliberate thief. While theft is a crime regardless of the amount of money, it's still very puzzling why stealing ice cream and caramel at the risk of being arrested.
After all, under the current Japanese tourist visa system, people who can come to Japan for tourism have a certain amount of basic savings, and it is unlikely that they will lack the twenty yuan. So it's even more difficult to explain why they would steal at the expense of being arrested during their trip for twenty dollars.
Japanese netizens also commented on the recent frequent theft news, and some Japanese netizens were very angry about this, feeling that Japan, as a tourist country, has always had a large number of foreigners entering the country, which has greatly affected public security.
"Foreigners who come to Japan on a tourist visa and not for work, regardless of the size of the crime. I hope that they will be severely punished, forced to return home, and not allowed to enter Japan again. Truth be told, Japan is often belittled, and annoying YouTubers are like that, and the punishment for them is too light. If the punishment is too light, and they can get enough change for doing bad things, then they will inevitably do whatever they want. I would like to see a firm and resolute attitude somewhere that crimes in Japan will not be tolerated! I think it must be made known to the whole world. I think it's necessary to let the whole world know. ”
"Immediately deport the whole family with the punishment of never being allowed to re-enter the country! or better yet, let them not leave their country? they will do it again elsewhere." If you think you won't be able to catch the bus, don't bring the caramel with you and put them down. ”
Some Japanese netizens are very worried about this situation, and listed in detail the crimes committed by foreigners in Japan, condemning the incompetence and pedantry of the Japanese government.
"Organized crime by foreigners in Japan: In 2020, 35.5% of criminal offenses committed by foreigners in Japan were complicity, about 2.8 times that of Japanese (12.5%) (Note 1). In terms of the type of crime, shoplifting accounted for 40.1%, which is about 3.1 times that of Japanese (12.9%). It can be seen that foreigners tend to be more organized and bold in committing crimes in Japan than Japanese. The Metropolitan Police Department has released "Organized Crime by Foreigners in Japan". I don't like it that the LDP let them settle in Japan so easily. Although their wages are low, the wages of Japanese people will not go up. Only the law and order situation in Japan is deteriorating. ”
"It's infuriating that those lawmakers are comfortably earning bribe funds, evading taxes – the equivalent of hundreds of thousands of dollars in ice cream – and the police can't catch them. But you certainly can't steal ice cream either. ”
There are also Japanese netizens who simply analyzed this matter and felt that it was completely impossible for anyone to forget to pay. It is just a bad habit to think that people who can come to Japan to travel are not short of money.
"If you have a habit of paying, even if you have mild dementia, you won't forget. Either you take it for granted that you don't pay, or you deliberately don't pay, which one is it?"
"If the criminal excuse is valid, you usually have two choices: give up the bus or give up the caramel. Foregoing payment is a ridiculous deal. ”
"They have enough financial strength to go to Japan, so it's not that they don't have money, it's just that they don't have good habits. ”
No matter where it is, for whatever reason, the amount of theft is small, theft is a crime, and behaving in a proper manner is the right way in the world, and I hope that such absurd thefts can appear less and less no matter where they are.