A common anecdote of customer service in Japan is having a clerk chase you down the street and trying to catch their breath as they hand you a 10 yen coin that you accidentally dropped. However, this door swings both ways and those who dare rip off such businesses may also find themselves pursued to the ends of the country for it.
Such a case started back on September 17, when a 41-year-old man was attempting to steal two packs of ground beef worth 184 yen from a supermarket in Sapporo. A 56-year-old security guard had caught him in the act, but as he tried to stop the man, he was shoved in the chest and failed to apprehend the suspect.
The shoplifter fled the scene on foot but police were able to track his movement using their extensive network of surveillance cameras on the street and in train stations. It wasn’t until December 23 that they finally located him in Chita City, Aichi Prefecture. For those unfamiliar with Japanese geography, that’s roughly halfway across the entire country or more than 1,000 kilometers by most modes of transportation.
▼ A map showing the distance between the crime and arrest
We’ve seen Japanese police’s impressive tracking skills before but this might be a distance record, at least in relation to the severity of the crime.
Walking down many streets anywhere in Japan, you’ll be sure to see cameras posted here and there. These allow the police to keep tabs on where a suspect flees. Even if they duck into a train station, the police have a camera pointed right at the ticket machine and watch which buttons are pushed to narrow down which stops they would get off at. Thanks, to Japan’s impeccably punctual train system, police can figure out when suspects would get off a train with amazing accuracy.
Upon this suspect’s arrest, he denied the charges and claimed he had no memory of the incident. Hopefully, it’ll come to him eventually, because readers of the news online are completely baffled as to why he would steal a pack of meat when he seemingly had the funds to travel so far. Others were equally confused as to why the police would sink so many resources into finding such a petty thief.
“That’s extremely impressive, but maybe do it with more important criminals.”
“All for some ground beef…”
“Was this done using AI? Because if it was just people, it’s pretty amazing.”
“Did he spend more money on the getaway than what he stole, or did he just stowaway on something?”
“He could have bought so much beef with the money he spent getting to Aichi.”
“If they can chase this minced meat bandit across the country, why can’t they find the guy who stole my bike helmet right in front of a camera?”
“The police must be getting bored there.”
“Meat is so expensive now, it’s probably a high-risk item and the police want to set an example.”
There is no doubt that the cost of apprehending this suspect was far, far more than the damage caused, but the economy of crime investigations is generally seen as more of an investment in future crime prevention rather than balancing the scales for that particular crime. However, the point isn’t about recouping costs but putting the message out there that robbery has consequences which they expect would prevent future robberies from happening and be worth it in the long run.
Whatever it is that’s going on there, the message is loud and clear: Don’t mess with anyone’s ground beef in Sapporo.
Source: FNN Online Prime, Itai News, Gyakubiki, SSRN
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© SoraNews24
49 Comments
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wallace
What an enormous waste of police resources.
BigP
Waste of police resources or an excellent training exercise?
Guy Gin and tonic
Gyuniku beef and think you can escape? Think again, you beef nicker!
wallace
Keystone Cops.
onedragon
Pathetic it's come to this in Japan.
bass4funk
You have got to be kidding me.
ebisen
To those who think this is a waste of resources, it isn't! The tracking system is most probably fully automated, once you gave it a target it won't loose it.
Paul Sventek
Two packs of beef for only 184 yen? Is that price really correct? Seems very inexpensive.
wallace
We pay about ¥500 for one small beef pack.
JeffLee
Japanese Police budgets rise year after year, despite a declining population. Ergo, Japanese taxpayers more and more money for police to watch a smaller and smaller population. Every wonder why Japan has the world's highest debt?
vctokyo
The police really had a beef over the thief
@Japan Glimpsed
Not 100% ground beef but a mix of beef and pork. Misleading photo/ title.
@Japan Glimpsed
Elucidate. What has it come to, exactly?
Abe234
Excellent! Once you start to allow shoplifters get away with it, they’ll take it as tacit consent. In Florida they got away with it and the law has recently just changed. Just walking in, picking stuff up and walking out without a care in the world. In the U.K, shoplifters just walking in and out because the police and courts are understaffed. So Kudos to the police. Today it’s beef, next time it much more expensive things or maybe it’s a hard working local farmers apples. It’s what we pay our taxes for! To catch the criminals,
@Japan Glimpsed
Relevant? There is nothing in Japanese language reporting suggesting that the suspect travelled from Hokkaido to Aichi by train. For all that vaunted accuracy, it still took police 3 months to apprehend the man.
mountainpear
This story kind of makes me feel sick to my stomach. Today it's a shoplifter, tomorrow it's somebody who opposes the government. Where does it end...
Quo Primum
Exactly! Well said.
John-San
Wallace: You know the pack has a weight measurement attached to the produce and you can only provide small pack. Either your a cannot understand the metic system or your wife does the shopping. As for the photo it been doctored, look how the pack is wrapped. No way a super in Japan would allow it on display. The sticker as been crop at the top and try placing that sticker on that badly wrapped item it will conform with the wrapping but the sticker stands out one demential. As Japan Glimpsed state where in Japan can you get beef mince without a portion of subitute pork . Pure beef mince is not sold in super unless you go to a Japanese butcher
owzer
41 years ago, an old woman asked "Where's the beef!?" and it seems the Japanese police desperately wanted to know as well!
u_s__reamer
There is no doubt that the cost of apprehending this suspect was far, far more than the damage caused, but the economy of crime investigations is generally seen as more of an investment in future crime prevention rather than balancing the scales for that particular crime. However, the point isn’t about recouping costs but putting the message out there that robbery has consequences which they expect would prevent future robberies from happening and be worth it in the long run.
Hmm.
As a taxpayer I'm not amused. I want my taxes used to recoup the loot pocketed by the usual suspects, the corrupt fat cats with all the cream.
NCIS Reruns
More than meat thieves, I'm thinking such technology could benefit society by helping to thwart mass outbreaks of e-coli or salmonella poisoning.
wanderlust
The Mountie always gets his man - Japan Style!
Speed
184 yen for TWO packs of ground beef? Nah, I don't believe it.
kurisupisu
The shoplifter “attempted to” steal the beef but hadn’t and he was still pursued?
Remarkable!
Zaphod
Ridiculous. But if the police have nothing better to do, why not keep them busy. Better than sitting at the desk and sipping ocha all day.
@Japan Glimpsed
Minced beef and pork. And definitely not wagyu.
Exactly. And beef/ meat is processed, so the cattle farmer is not pictured on packaging (unlike with crop growers).
There is nothing in Japanese coverage to suggest that this case was a priority for police. The suspect got noticed by cops in Aichi for some unreported activity.
Anyway, a criminal suspect was arrested. Police performing their function.
https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/2c39b619487dda5bba8d21cf9404306d63ceb0d9
Five Families
I got a serious beef with you. Sorry corney. LOL.
I agree with mosy of you. Waste of police resourses, but impressive.
@Japan Glimpsed
Xactly. You've figured out Japanese police.
iron man
N.Y. Quiz, where did the beef truly originate. was it a under-udder op to recover a MCD tip-off. Just ensure to check on the carbon hoof-print. HNY.
gaijintraveller
This is creepy and demonstrates the extent of state surveilance. There are privacy laws in Japan, but they mean nothing when the police have such tracking ability. It is so Orwellian, so 1984.
Quo Primum
I'm fine with this. They take crime in general and shoplifting in particular very seriously here, as well they should.
Unlike many US cities, where one can lift hundreds of dollars worth of merchandise in plain view and the cops do nothing about, having been ordered to stand down by soft-on-crime politicians.
Hiro
If he dares to do it once, he will do it again. The fact he denied it, means he had zero regret for his actions. And who knows how many times he already did it before they discovered him that time.
So no, any crime must face justice and i applaud the police for not abandoning this and had continue the search. There are consequences in ones actions and this is a reminder that no matter how far you run, it will catch up to you. Is not a waste of resources, because this have to be expected from the police. That they do their job no matter how small the task is. Small things can lead to big things. You don't just ignore it. Any other excuse just means you are lazy and not take your work as a officer seriously.
falseflagsteve
Thought it was January 1st not April 1st, lol
Wesley
LOL!
ian
As always the end is only limited by your imagination
ian
Yeah shows only one pack
@Japan Glimpsed
No. That's the railway operator.
@Japan Glimpsed
No, this is not coordinated, systemic surveillance. The article and certain comments are utterly uninformed and misleading.
@Japan Glimpsed
Yes, having us on.
diobrando
Perfect definition of waste of public money used by stupid system...pathetic.
Nifty
So it was grounds for arrest and justice was meated out?
Fighto!
Glad they got the perpetrator.
It makes one wonder - with all the surveillance recently installed and now in use on roads, the railway network, shops and private residences, hopefully a crime such as the Setagaya family murders will not go unsolved in future?
It is estimated there are at least 5 million security cameras now in Japan (Nikkei Business).
I'll cope with accusations of "Orwellian" surveillance if it helps solve heinous crimes such as the Setagaya family killings.
Fossil
Wrong
kurisupisu
He stole the packs or he didn’t?
Peter14
They may have the wrong person.
Ryder
NO, just NO. Wasn't it enough to scare him for 1000 km? The scary part here is all those cameras. No wonder wages havent' risen in 25 years. That is an incredible waste of taxpayer dollars.
Wick's pencil
Maybe 184 yen per 100g?
Aoi Azuuri
Japanese police organization is strict "general" criminals, but very loose to LDP illegal politicians.
Belrick
It took 3 months but they tracked him over 1000+kms? Why wait so long to apprehend him?