A Rise In Theft: Japanese Robbers Set Their Sights On Unexpected Luxury Good

A certain item is being stolen more than ever in Japan.

Rather than the usual luxury watches, cars, or jewelry, thieves in Japan are picking fruits as their target. There is a thriving market for premium fruits which are grown by hand to ensure they reach high standards for appearance and taste. Japanese individuals and companies often buy them as gifts for special occasions.

One softball-sized strawberry, for instance, can cost upwards of ¥500,000 JPY ($3,346 USD).

Several prefectures have recently experienced an alarming rise in fruit theft. Yamanashi Prefecture, for instance, lost an astounding ¥8,500,000 JPY ($56,890 USD) from 40 cases of missing fruit in the last four months.

| KKDay

It is so bad, in fact, that local firefighters and private security guards are patrolling the area at night to ensure the safety of the fruits.

The same thing happened to another peach farm located in Fuefuki City when farmers realized that 1,400 peaches went missing out of the blue. Another top farming company in Yamanashi City lost 1,500 peaches just two days later.

Peaches were not the only luxury fruit being targeted in the past few months. Just last September 28, 400 bunches of grapes went missing in the Yamanashi Prefecture. The total loss amounted to ¥350,000 ($2,343 USD).

Farm owners are now increasing their security measures to combat this rise in theft.

[The field’s] security cameras might have captured the criminal. I plan to ramp up measures by increasing security cameras and installing motion detectors.

— Farm Owner