Man steals police car after being left alone in back seat

Amimoto was quoted by police as saying he just wanted to go home.

It sounds like wanted to "borrow" the cop car rather than "steal" it. I imagine fencing a police vehicle would be really, really difficult in Japan. LOL.

he just wanted to go home.

He got himself another way for transportation to go home.

Wait, is this from a movie or real?

This is too funny

Was he playing grand theft auto?

Thank you, JT, for this article, bringing a laugh to a Monday morning. If only we had a video of this and the expressions on those police officers the moment they saw their patrol car driving off! And I would love to have heard the chewing out they got from the Police Chief. What is really funny is the charge: "suspicion of stealing a police patrol car." I mean, seriously, the police weren't sure what he was doing but they suspected him of stealing their car? Typical policespeak but funny. Thanks to this little episode, police nationwide are going to have to endure a new set of training classes and videos.

Some people here have impulses to do crazy stuff. These things you can't even think of or see in Hollywood movies.

I can't stop laughing this morning. Amimoto was quoted by police as saying he just wanted to go home.

Always take your keys out.

why do people in japan do that? Leave the car running?

see that all the time at combinis.

there’s no advantage in doing that, ever.

more people should take unmanned cars, that are still running, for a joy ride.

Just a couple blocks down the road.

make these morons sweat a little.

Yes, people do leave there engines running in cars in Japan.

When I lived in Yokohama, someone parked a huge yellow digger belching out diesel fumes in front of my house and left it. I just happened to want to spend some time in the garden before going to work. After about 15 mins I jumped into the cab and turned the engine off.

When I got home from work, my wife told me that they had a job starting it up again. It seems the batteries were flat. They needed to get a truck with a truckload of batteries to start it.

Police incompetence 101...

Only in Japan.

I imagine fencing a police vehicle would be really, really difficult in Japan. LOL.

Article says that the car is unmarked "An unmarked Kumamoto prefectural patrol car" so much less difficult than if it was a full-on patoka.

A cheerful J-cop story to begin the week....

Police incompetence 101...

Police, Politicians, the list goes on...

The police technically kidnapped him, or at least detained him without warrant. Just throwing people walking along the road into a police car isn't how LE should be conducting their jobs.

Make peace, not always war out of everything. And handle it more pragmatic and intelligently. They could easily have used his van instead and exchange cars again later. But no, the full war program, chasing with the next police car, taking into custody, interviews, a prison cell and food needed, trial at court, prison probably again and a lot more to follow, all on tax payer’s money , only leading to stress and consequences for everyone. Alone the lawyers and the costs at court are a multiple of those 20 km rental and gasoline used on highway. That’s all maximum stupid by us and our rules, not that guy who managed with highest intelligence and effectively to get quickest possible to the goal. lol

if it's got a red light rotating, it's not exactly unmarked.....

They'll just charging him with stealing to cover the stupidity of leaving him alone in a running car. They keystones at it again!

The police technically kidnapped him, or at least detained him without warrant. Just throwing people walking along the road into a police car isn't how LE should be conducting their jobs.

Gotta love JT legal experts. He was walking on an expressway - not an ordinary road, but a high speed road where no pedestrians are allowed, for obvious reasons. Any police in the developed world would have put him in their patrol car, for safety reasons. It's not all that outrageous that the police would trust a man they were assisting not to steal the police car. This is Japan, not America.

What a JOKE.

I guess jail is home!

Sometimes, after a long hard day at some low paying, dirty, under the table job, having only a few yen in your pocket, the kid using the van and not refilling the tank, having to walk along a busy highway for some distance because roadside assistance is nonexistant, and then being forced to wait in a car forever while others do everything but help you just get some gasoline, ya just gotta do things your own way, come what may. In a different context, this might be called "taking the initiative", but it's unlikely the judge will see the positive side here. If they actually put him in a cell, I'd bet he was asleep not more than five minutes later...and now, besides court, he has to bail out his van. My sympathies, Sir. I admire your spirit...

arrested on suspicion of stealing a police car.............suspicion.......ummmm

What a donut.

Police are asking for a description of the stolen vehicle.

Will this appear in next 24Hour Policereport TBS show ?

Believe it or not, the police were trying to help the guy.

Allowing your vehicle to run out of gas is a violation of Article 75 of the Road Traffic Act.

If comes with a fine of 12,000 Yen and a 2 point deduction from your drivers license.