Investigators in Ibaraki recently apprehended a man who was involved in stealing literally thousands of items.
The man hadn’t gone on a shoplifting spree, though. In fact, he didn’t even go into a shop, but has been arrested for the theft of roughly 3,000 pears.
In early August, Ibaraki Prefectural Police received information that there may be a foreigner without legal permission to stay in Japan who was living inside an out-of-business hotel in the town of Kasama. When investigators went to search the hotel on August 6, they found an unemployed 31-year-old Vietnamese man, and also approximately 1,800 pears of the kosui variety in plastic crates, in addition to a scale, cardboard shipping boxes, and shipping receipts.
When questioned, the man admitted to stealing the fruit from orchards in the town’s Ago district. With pear season approaching, many varieties are already edible, but most aren’t at their peak deliciousness quite yet, so farmers are leaving them on the branch to ripen just a little more. That window allowed the man to steal, he said, a total of around 3,000 pears between the early morning hours of August 1 and the early morning of August 2 with the intent to resell them. “I looked for people on social media in the in-Japan Vietnamese community who wanted to buy the pears, and resold them,” said the man.
While pilfering pears may not sound as heist-movie glamourous as targeting diamonds or works of fine art, steal enough of them, like, oh, say, 3,000, and you’re talking some major money, and associated consequences. The total value of the fruit stolen is estimated at about 870,000 yen .
It’s unclear from reports whether or not the man had indeed been in Japan illegally, but grand theft, even of fruit, is something that’s pretty likely to get your residency permission revoked by the immigration department. Investigators are also looking into the possibility that the man wasn’t the only person involved in the robbery (picking 3,000 pieces of fruit in a day’s time quickly enough to not get spotted does seem like more than a one-person job), as well as whether or not there’s a connection to pear thefts that also took place at farms in other Ibaraki cities, Tsuchiura and Chikusei, last month.
Source: NHK News Web, Asahi Shimbun via Livedoor News via Otakomu
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30 Comments
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commanteer
Next in the news, a man stole thousands of items after pocketing one box of beads at a fabric shop, and then went on to eat a hundred fish or more for dinner when he ordered ikura...
Fighto!
Absolute scum, with no ethics, morals, or respect for the host nation. All of this is highly planned and devious - stealing directly from a hard-working farmer.
This Vietnamese thief - and all of his type - have no place in Japan.
englisc aspyrgend
If the headline hadn’t informed me otherwise I would have thought it was an Egremont Russet Apple!
Who was the thief selling these to? If in Japan, receiving stolen goods is probably also a crime in Japan?
I assume this variety of pear commands a high price (as so often fruit appears to in Japan)?
piskian
Luckily he didn't disappear.
Fighto!
Vietnamese selling to Vietnamese on the black market. Yes, the buyers should also be arrested and then deported.
WoodyLee
A Guard dogs or an electric fence does a very good job, better yet 2 or 3 unleased Doberman .
JeffLee
The Vietnamese haven't been in Japan for very long, and already their criminal activity has become systemic, ie, Vietnamese stealing to sell to other Vietnamese residents here. The govt should - and quite likely will - take immigration-related measures in response to this phenomenon before a Vietnamese mafia develops and spreads, as it has done in Western countries.
WoodyLee
BUYERS are the only lifeline for these thieves and Guaranteed they are not Vietnamese, from Recycling companies to Whole sellers, to salvage yards who are dealing or even hiring these thieves are the ones who needs to be arrested and put behind bars along with the thieves.
jackandjill
Love the Japanese crispy juicy pears. Can no longer eat the soft Western type. Mush.
リッチ
Sad sorry. Seems like he needs help not arrested.
Gene Hennigh
jackandjill: absolutely correct. My favorite Asian market imports real fuji apples and Japanese pears. Costs a lot here, but worth every nickel. That's why the Japanese people should mandate some change both about immigrants and protection of farmers. A lot of these farmers are old, as everyone knows, and their income can't take too many hits like this. Prices in the stores go up due to scarcity so even then the farmers aren't getting the money at all.
sakurasuki
Usual suspect.
Never thought someone can really use that unused akiya for storing fruits.
Mr Kipling
Wow, that was a surprise.
DanteKH
Leaving emotions aside, there are 2 very important things the article mentions:
unemployed and ilegal resident;
homeless, living in a old, decommissioned ex hotel ;Now, one should ask, how come this person become what it is? If he is homeless and jobless, how he is suppose to survive by hymself? I have a feeling he only steals just to survive, but probably most of the people, as seen on the comments, are just quick to blame and crucify him without knowing his true, or the real story behind all this.
Fighto!
Sure - he needed to steal 3000 premium kosui pears to "survive". Perhaps theft from ones fellow man is considered acceptable in Vietnam - but it most certainly is not in Japan.
It almost seems as if you are trying to present this Vietnamese man as a victim.
WA4TKG
How come, before even starting to read this, we knew it was going to be a Vietnamese guy
Mocheake
You also don't need to keep referring to his country of birth and ethnicity. By doing so, you are just reinforcing the typical stereotypes so prevalent in the country already. If this individual guy committed a crime, hopefully he gets due process and his rightful punishment, if convicted.
YongYang
He's lucky the police found him first. The back room people in farming would have handled it differently, for sure.
Mr Kipling
Jail time then deportation. Never to return.
ClippetyClop
With the harvest coming up this man's speed and skill could be useful.
TaiwanIsNotChina
Did he perhaps get confused between pears and pairs?
kurisupisu
This is what happens when Japan brings over plane loads of foreigners as cheap labor and doesn’t provide any support networks.
Foreigners are literally disappearing and being left to survive as best they can.
Lepyon
I think his residency pearmission is in pearil
Mr Kipling
Unemployed is also the description given to people who have no "official" occupation. Like this chap who makes his living through crime.
桜川雪
Farmers, give this man a job. Thats pretty good picking for 2 days.
桜川雪
桜川雪
It helps drive data analytics for lawmakers and other groups. Suppression is not the answer...in some european countries they refuse to say the ethnicity and nationality of the criminal, but many can deduce from either name (if posted), from the neighborhood, or from the crime. People aren't powerless except when they cannot band together to stop the silliness of their govt censorship on such.
tora
He was arrested for stealing 3000 in 24 hours?? Was it because he took too many in that time frame?
Nippori Nick
Come on now. There is no country where stealing and theft is considered acceptable.
By the way, how is the view on that high horse?
falseflagsteve
I’ve been warning about the increase of crimes we will see and my comments were all poo pooed. Well, it’s happening and the crime figures will be rising accordingly.