Man arrested for stealing laptop, other items at fast food restaurant

 150,000 yen worth of items, including a laptop and a bag containing a wallet

I don't care what country you're in.

If you're in a fast food place and you got 150,000 yen worth of stuff, you don't let it out of your sight.

Fools will take it.

I have dropped my wallet full of cash and get it returned, left bag, phone in full sight at macdonalds, never lock my bike the whole day at the station and even once left the house door open the whole day. In all cases, nothing happened. Japan has changed nowadays.

I usually tell visitors to Japan that you can leave stuff at your table in restaurants or cafes if you go to the bathroom or whatever. I don't think this one incident proves that you can never do that, but I'll stop telling people they can. Let them perform their own risk analysis.

I have dropped my wallet full of cash and get it returned, left bag, phone in full sight at macdonalds, never lock my bike the whole day at the station and even once left the house door open the whole day. In all cases, nothing happened. Japan has changed nowadays

This used to be the case more often than not I have had similar occurrences however over the last few years with the new generation taking jobs in the industry it is more common to have your stuff swiped at the table.

I now carry a bag where ever I go and anything I use laptop phone keys etc all go in it as soon as I use it and I take it with me when going to the restroom after having several things stolen from the table and complain to the manager and all they do is look around and say nope sorry nothing we can do . All the while it sits in a servers pocket. I'll also just call the police next time something goes missing from my table too.

Oh, he was just transporting the goods, you know, giving them a lift....

https://www.newsweek.com/worlds-most-barbaric-punishments-74537

@Hawk, I'm the opposite, I tell Japanese people who telle about their plans to travel abroad not to leave stuff unattended, unless they wany to get rid of it.

I do think it's a good advice.

@rocketpig My wallet fell out of my broken backpack and I never saw it again. My bike was stolen from outside my apartment and found destroyed in a rice field.

ILoveDownvotes,

I tell Japanese going abroad to be much more careful with their belongings than they are in Japan, too. I wouldn't dream of leaving a laptop, wallet etc unattended on a table where I come from.

Generally speaking, this type of crimes are relatevely low in Japan... reason why it is news. Considering that there is a lot of people that left unnatended their phones, PCs, wallets and whatnots in public areas (cafes and fast foods mostly)... if this stealing were rampant the rate would be much much higher.

Having said that, a recommendation I do is in fact a recommendation I got 25 years ago from an acquaintance of mine who was at the time an Japanese Police Inspector.. "never leave your valuables (wallet, phone, PC) unnatended even for a second, not in Japan, not everywhere... If you want to leave something to reserve your seat, use something that you will not mind to be stolen"

This wouldn't even reach the local newspaper in most of the world. That it is national news in Japan tells us something. I have been here 34 years and this happen back then too - occasionally

"Nishimoto is accused of stealing about 150,000 yen worth of items, including a laptop and a bag containing a wallet from a 21-year-old female university student who had temporarily left her seat at the restaurant in Nishikyo Ward at around 11:35 p.m. on Monday."

Sorry, but leaving your stuff at a table -- especially things like smartphones, tablets, computers, and your bag with your wallet in it -- is and has always been a moronic thing to do. It is particularly annoying when people do this to "reserve" a table and then go order or do some shopping elsewhere before coming back, or to "keep" the table while they, again, go do other things. You do that, you deserve to have the stuff stolen -- or at least you should not be surprised. I was very happy to see that at my nearby Starbucks they have started to remove items from the tables of people who do it for prolonged periods of time (and there are now QR codes on all tables and you get one when you order so that staff know how long you've been there). A few weeks back when visiting Costco my partner and I wanted to eat something quickly before the long trek home but there wasn't an empty table to be found. To be sure, half the tables also had no people at them, but there were bags, phones, umbrellas, keys, and other things to show the tables were "reserved". We and others waited maybe 20 minutes and a few of the tables remained empty of people but covered with goods, so finally I just put the stuff on the floor of a couple of tables and we sat down and ate, and another couple did beside us, thanking me. At one of the tables the people never did come (I guess they put their stuff down and then went shopping, with the plan being to eat later). Another group did come back and looked shocked, but picked up their stuff and said nothing. I told them they could sit when we were done, as there is no reservation system.

But I digress once again... if you leave your stuff, do not be surprised if it's gone or has been moved by the time you get back. As inflation remains high, prices go up, pay does not, and people get poorer, theft is only going to increase here.

Those days of people relating stories of lost wallets on trains returned to them are ancient history in Japan

And the big Q? is, Does he remember doing it or NOT??

Very often I see people of all ages leaving their belongings at a table to reserve it then go to order, I have always wondered if anyone has stolen any, well my suspicion just been confirmed.