crime

More than 1,200 cases of theft reported by home owners in Fukushima no-go zone since 2011

15 Comments

Fukushima prefectural police said Friday there have been more than 1,200 reported cases of abandoned houses that have been broken into and robbed since the March 11, 2011 disaster.

Police said the thefts were reported by home owners returning for temporary visits to their homes in eight towns in the no-go zone around the wrecked Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, NHK reported. The towns include Tomioka, Futaba and Okuma.

This year alone, 90 cases of theft had been reported as of May 31, police said.

Police have made one arrest, a 34-year-old man, who was nabbed after breaking into an apartment in Tomioka. Police said the man, who was arrested on Thursday, stole clothes. Police said they confiscated other stolen items from his home, including around 3,000 items made of precious metals, NHK reported.

The suspect was quoted by police as saying he had robbed more than 100 residences in the area.

Police said they intend to step up patrols in the no-go zone.

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15 Comments
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Tessa, not surprised at all. Police were needed in shelters in Fukushima because women were scared of being raped. Of course, that never hit the media just as I haven't seen this hit the J media. Head up, ignore the turth and pretend all was fine. A huge disservice to those who fell victim to crime because they weren'T aware it wasn't safe.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

There was also plenty of looting in Miyakejima after the volcano evacuation.

When the foreign media were braying on about how looting is non-existent in Japan , I had to have a chuckle.

In Fukushima, goods were also stolen from the evacuation centers and at least one ATM was knocked over. You can occasionally read about it in the Japanese media, but the foreign media doesn't want to know about it.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

This is not at all shocking when you understand that, generally, people do whatever they can get away with.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

kimuzukasii, you'd think nuclear fallout would be more effective than an electric fence any day….

0 ( +0 / -0 )

You can be sure that this report is only the top of the iceberg. There are millions of yen in cash that was left in stores, banks and homes throughout the no go zone that thieves have been targeting. The cops only run weekly patrols through these areas and there are many un-patrolled routes in and out of these towns. The scary this is though, all the cash and commodities in this area that are being stolen are highly radioactive and are entering circulation of the general public. This report is just a media release and does not even touch the surface of the real events.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

according to them, there was a lot of looting and burglary in the aftermath, but it was hardly ever reported to authorities, and even when it was, it was not reported at all in the press. A typical example? My student lived in an upscale neighborhood that wasn't structurally damaged in the quake, but because of a suspected gas leak, the whole block was evacuated. When the residents returned several hours later, they discovered that each and every home had been broken into and burgled. Reports were made to the police, but nothing was ever mentioned in the papers. Bad for morale, and all that.

This is really interesting to hear. I know Japan is much safer than my home country, but try to hide crimes is not doing any service to the citizens. People should be aware so they can be cautious. Doesn't matter if the crime rate is .0001% or 99%, if the victim of the crime is yourself or someone you know your world could change forever.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Too many classless people in the world.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

"Because in Japan, honesty and integrity is a way of life." No surprise here. Japan is a land where you prey on the weak so everybody should have seen this coming. Kizuna, right?

-1 ( +4 / -5 )

Not surprised to hear this news, I'm only surprised to learn that the number is so low. Suspiciously low.

I live in Kansai, and many of my older students survived the Kobe quake of '95. According to them, there was a lot of looting and burglary in the aftermath, but it was hardly ever reported to authorities, and even when it was, it was not reported at all in the press. A typical example? My student lived in an upscale neighborhood that wasn't structurally damaged in the quake, but because of a suspected gas leak, the whole block was evacuated. When the residents returned several hours later, they discovered that each and every home had been broken into and burgled. Reports were made to the police, but nothing was ever mentioned in the papers. Bad for morale, and all that.

2 ( +7 / -5 )

Hope he and others like him rot in hell.

5 ( +6 / -1 )

Sadly, from what I saw during the times I went in to assist with animal rescue, I think this figure is a bit low, especially since it is not including the business owners. Most stores we drove past had busted windows, some ATMs were smashed open and a number of homes we went to in search of animals had their front doors wide open and muddy footsteps inside.

"Question is did he sell any of these items? The other question is why didn't the police patrol or at least secure the zones. The really need to secure the zones, an occasional patrol means nothing."

They have most of the roads into the core area fully secured, but unfortunately the area of the entire no-go zone is just too big to properly barricade. Police will often pull over each person they see with out of town plates and demand papers (happened tons of times to me), but they can't be everywhere, and sometimes the thefts are from fellow Fukushima residents, whom they rarely pull over since owners are allowed to go back and check on their own property.

8 ( +8 / -0 )

Karma for those involved?

0 ( +2 / -2 )

Question is did he sell any of these items? The other question is why didn't the police patrol or at least secure the zones. The really need to secure the zones, an occasional patrol means nothing.

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

It is pretty disgusting, and Im finding it hard to not wish for ill health of the robbers who go into contaminated places to steal at will. Its just too easy. They do need to increase security around the towns. Maybe a nice big electric fence.

Im glad they could reclaim some of the items and can get them back to the owners.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

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