Society

Japanese man arrested for stealing women’s shoes and replacing them with new ones

Apr 10 (soranews24.com) - Aichi prefecture in central Japan seems to be a hot spot for weird criminal activity these days, between people selling modified Pokémon from a hacked game, stealing piano covers from schools, and slashing women’s car tires. And now we can add one more crime to the list: theft of women’s shoes, and replacing them with brand new ones.

33-year-old Hiroaki Katsu, an office worker from Nagakute City in Aichi, was arrested on the theft charges. According to investigators, the man had about 20 pairs of women’s shoes in his house, ranging in style from boots to loafers, flats, and pumps.

The arrest came after Katsu was discovered to be the culprit that swapped out a pair of shoes valued at about 5,000 yen (US$45.53) from a 23-year-old female instructor at a music school in Nagoya. The incident occurred at about 10:50 a.m. on January 30, but the instructor only noticed something strange when she put her shoes on before heading home (it’s not unusual for people in Japan to change into slippers while at their workplace). The shoes she had worn to work were thoroughly broken in, so she thought it was strange that at the end of the day “her shoes” looked and felt like new.

The woman contacted the police, suspecting that her shoes had been switched out. After an investigation led them to Katsu, police arrested the man on April 6, whereupon he confessed to the crime. “It’s not a mistake,” he told authorities. Katsu and the instructor had never actually met before he stole her shoes.

Though he was initially arrested for the theft of one woman’s shoes, he was found with a collection of shoes that seemed to belong to several different women. When asked, he confessed to stealing those shoes, too.

“I wanted to smell the scent of women’s shoes,” he admitted.

Police consider the crimes to be premeditated, as Katsu had taken care to replace each pair of shoes with a brand new pair in the same brand, style, size, and color. They are currently investigating whether additional charges should be placed against him.

Source: ANNnewsCH

Do Bears Prefer Acorns or Berries?

Bear sightings across Japan have already climbed to nearly twice the level recorded during the same period last year, prompting entry bans in mountain areas behind Kyoto’s Ninna-ji Temple and the cancellation of hiking events in Kansai, while new research suggests that the key to reducing encounters may lie in understanding what bears eat in each region.

Copper Thieves Target Japanese Shrines

Copper roofing panels were stolen from several shrines in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture, including a city-designated cultural property, in the latest case amid a nationwide surge in copper thefts targeting shrines and temples across Japan, where soaring metal prices have fueled crimes that leave historic religious buildings damaged, exposed to the elements, and facing repair costs of millions of yen.

1200-Year-Old Temple on Miyajima Reduced to Ashes

Flames broke out on the morning of May 20th on Miyajima Island in Hiroshima Prefecture, home to one of Japan's World Heritage sites, destroying Reikado Hall near the summit of Mount Misen.

From Bento Boxes to Garbage Bags, Rising Costs Hitting Daily Life Across Japan

Uncertainty surrounding the situation in the Middle East is beginning to affect daily life in Japan, as concerns over crude oil supplies spread to restaurants, cleaning services and even household garbage disposal systems across the Kansai region.

Tochigi Robbery-Murder Suspect’s Wife Posted Dance Videos on Social Media

A 25-year-old woman arrested as a suspected ringleader in a robbery-murder case in Tochigi Prefecture once posted cheerful dance videos on social media and was remembered by those who knew her as an energetic and outgoing young woman.

MEDIA CHANNELS

MORE Society NEWS

Garbage Burnoff Spreads to 3 Buildings in Okayama

A fire that broke out in Kagamino, Okayama Prefecture, shortly after noon on May 20th destroyed three buildings, including a home, after flames from open burning spread to dead leaves and then to nearby structures.

Gang Members Arrested After Opening Office Near Nursery

Six people, including a senior member of a group affiliated with the Sumiyoshi-kai crime syndicate's Kohei-ikka faction, have been arrested on suspicion of opening a gang office in a prohibited area near a nursery school in Tokyo's Itabashi Ward.

Six Police Officers Injured After Man Sprays Liquid at Station

A man who visited a police station in Hiratsuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, in the early hours of May 21st allegedly sprayed a transparent liquid inside the building, causing six police officers to complain of eye and throat pain and be taken to hospital with minor injuries.