KANAGAWA - Police in Isehara, Kanagawa Prefecture, presented letters of appreciation to two first-year junior high school students on July 10 after they chased a suspected shoplifter for about 250 meters and helped detain the person.
The incident occurred on July 1 while Raimi Izumi and Yukimine Tanaka were visiting a supermarket.
"I was about to leave when the shoplifter ran away, and someone in the supermarket shouted, 'That's a shoplifter,'" Izumi said.
After realizing what had happened, the two students began running after the fleeing suspect at full speed.
"I started running first, and then my friend passed me and caught the person," Izumi said.
Tanaka, a member of his school's soccer club, quickly closed the distance using his speed.
"I grabbed the person's shirt and then held the person's arm," Tanaka said.
The students caught the suspect after a chase of about 250 meters, then called store employees and handed the person over to them.
A person who helped restrain the suspect said the individual was "soaked with sweat."
Although the suspect was detained safely, Tanaka said he later realized that their actions had involved some risk.
"What we did was a little dangerous," he said. "Next time, I think it would be better to call 110 or get someone from the store."
