Don't sleep on it: Japan police, airline staff urge caution over spate of onboard thefts

NARITA, Chiba -- As more passengers take to the skies in the post-coronavirus pandemic era, thefts are recurring aboard planes flying in and out of Narita International Airport in Chiba Prefecture, east of Tokyo. Authorities are accordingly working with airlines to remind people to watch their belongings ahead of the busy year-end season.

Banknotes from developing countries inserted to keep victims from noticing

This year, the Chiba Prefectural Police station at Narita airport had received 19 such reports as of the end of October, far more than the seven during the same period last year. In each case, cash was taken from victims' wallets, and the bills taken were reportedly replaced with other notes from developing countries as a clever way to delay detection.

According to the police station, around 60% of the victims were Japanese men. Each of their wallets had Japanese yen or American dollars taken from inside their bags that they placed in the closed overhead compartments. The thefts are thought to have taken place as the victims slept. In one case, 2.07 million yen (around $14,300) was stolen from one man.

The thefts occurred on a range of flights to destinations such as North America and Asia. There were also 20 cases of victims consulting officials about damage. During the same period in 2019, before the pandemic, there were 26 victim reports and one consultation.

In a bid to stop the crimes, the station has sought cooperation from Narita airport's operating company and airlines. On Nov. 22, an anti-crime campaign was carried out in tandem with the Japan Airlines group's low-cost carrier Zipair Tokyo Inc. at the departures gate at Terminal 1.

Two Zipair employees who each work as both cabin attendants and ground staff, 31-year-old Hitomi Mitani and 27-year-old Ayano Ohashi, were passing out manga flyers and warning those about to board flights as they worked as "police station chiefs for a day." The flyers were drawn by an officer who used to be a manga artist, and advise readers to not leave their valuables behind when they go to washrooms, among other precautions, with speech bubbles in four languages.

Additionally, officers such as Isaho Kunii, the head of the station's division of crime and community safety, alerted people by megaphone, "Do not let your valuables out of sight and carry them with you. Do not keep them in the pockets on the seats in front of you or in the compartments," and handed out 200 flyers.

According to the airport operator, in the first half of fiscal 2024, aircraft arrivals and departures totaled 122,000, 116% compared to the previous year, and recovered to 90% of the level in fiscal 2019 before the pandemic. Passenger numbers also recovered to 88% of fiscal 2019 levels, hitting 19.92 million, a year-on-year increase of about 20% compared to the previous fiscal year. In particular, foreign passengers on international flights have increased, hitting 10.79 million, or 117% of the volume in fiscal 2019.

(Japanese original by Tsukimi Goda, Narita Bureau)