Organized Theft by Vietnamese Tourists
H&M, Zara, and Others Also Targeted
The Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported on the 4th that theft incidents involving foreigners have been continuously occurring at Uniqlo stores, a representative mid-range clothing brand in Japan. Recently, Vietnamese individuals disguised as tourists were caught stealing products worth about 100 million yen in an organized theft operation. Uniqlo is Japan's leading fast fashion (SPA) brand. It is a subsidiary of Japan's Fast Retailing (ファ?ストリテイリング), and its name originates from "unique and cheap clothes," also carrying the meaning of "universal." The headquarters is located in Yamaguchi Prefecture.
The Nihon Keizai reported that three Vietnamese tourists visiting Japan were caught stealing approximately 3,300 items, including women's underwear worth about 12.3 million yen (approximately 112 million KRW), from 37 Uniqlo stores in Tokyo and Osaka between June last year and February this year. They visited Japan multiple times on short-term stay visas. Each visit lasted about two weeks, during which they stole goods from Uniqlo stores, earning between 170,000 and 210,000 yen (approximately 1.54 million to 1.91 million KRW) per trip.
Women disguised as tourists packed items into Boston bags and handed them to men who kept watch outside the stores. They repeated the thefts until their large travel bags were full. Afterwards, the stolen goods were brought to their accommodations and reportedly sent to Vietnam through couriers.
Investigators said these women received instructions from unidentified men. They were also provided with airline tickets and accommodations. They mainly targeted stores within commercial facilities with open structures and avoided stores with few entrances. They were given specific instructions, such as stealing women's clothing that was not bulky.
One participant in the crime said, "Uniqlo is a popular high-end brand in Vietnam," adding, "There are many counterfeit products, so genuine items with Japanese tags are traded at high prices on local websites."
The newspaper reported that since the easing of Japan's entry restrictions after the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of foreign tourists has surged, leading to a noticeable increase in organized theft crimes. Besides Uniqlo, well-known foreign clothing brand stores such as H&M (Hennes & Mauritz) and ZARA, as well as drugstores selling cosmetics and pharmaceuticals, have become targets of these crimes.
Mitsuzane, director of the National Theft Crime Prevention Organization, said, "Unlike other countries, it is difficult to openly suspect or respond to theft in stores in Japan," emphasizing, "On-site response capabilities are crucial to prevent damage."
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