Record 4.5B yen in lost cash turned in to Tokyo police
TOKYO—A record 4.5 billion yen ($29 million) in cash was turned in to Tokyo police as lost property in 2025, up 0.5 percent from the previous year, police statistics showed on Monday, reinforcing studies that have shown Japan ranks among the highest in the world for civic honesty.
The largest single amount of cash brought to the police totaled 27 million yen, according to the Metropolitan Police Department’s lost and found center.
More than 70 percent of the cases came from public facilities, including incidents when customers forgot to collect their change at supermarket self-checkout registers, it said.
Around 3.23 billion yen was returned to the owners, while roughly 590 million yen was given to the finders. Around 680 million yen became metropolitan government revenue.
The number of items handed in to the police also hit a record high of around 4.5 million, up 3 percent from the previous year.
Driver’s licenses and other identification documents made up the largest share at around 820,000, while the number of small electronic devices, including wireless earphones, handed in continued to increase, police said.
