Unoccupied Japanese Vacant Houses Targeted for Ownerless Appliances and Valuables... Over 100 Billion Won Stolen

Breaking into Long-Abandoned Homes to Steal Valuables
"Managing Mailboxes and Weeds Is Necessary for Prevention"

It has been reported that theft crimes targeting vacant houses are increasing in Japan.

The Yomiuri Shimbun recently reported, "From January to November last year, the nationwide damage amount exceeded 11 billion yen (approximately 101.1 billion KRW), increasing by more than 3 billion yen (approximately 27.5472 billion KRW) compared to the previous year."

According to statistics from the National Police Agency of Japan, there were 8,192 (provisional) break-in theft cases at vacant houses nationwide during this period. The damage amounted to 11.6 billion yen (approximately 106.516 billion KRW). Particularly, damage was prominent in some areas of Tohoku, Chubu, and Kyushu.

According to the Yomiuri report, compared to 2023, which recorded the highest figures since statistics began in 2020, the number of damage cases increased by 10%, and the damage amount increased by 60%. Compared to 2020, the damage amount increased about 3.7 times.

There were many cases of crimes committed by groups of foreigners. Last year, the Gunma Prefectural Police arrested three Vietnamese nationals, men and women, on suspicion of breaking into about 420 vacant houses while traveling through Gunma, Tochigi, Saitama, and Niigata from September 2023 to July last year.

Residential area in Japan. The photo is not directly related to the article content. Pixabay

In Japan, houses left unattended for a long time throughout the year are generally referred to as vacant houses. According to a 2023 survey by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, about 9 million vacant houses were identified nationwide, marking an all-time high. Among these, about 3.86 million houses were purely abandoned without residential or rental purposes, exceeding 40%. This is about 2.6 times the approximately 1.49 million houses recorded in 1993 over the past 30 years.

The Yomiuri explained, "It is not uncommon for houses to become vacant when parents die or enter nursing facilities, leaving the household as is." The group arrested by the Saitama Prefectural Police stated, "We heard that Japanese vacant houses have home appliances and valuables left inside."

The reason vacant houses become targets for thieves is that it is easy to steal items after breaking in, and it takes time for the crime to be discovered. According to the police, relatively new vacant houses are frequently broken into, and some groups target houses that have been empty for a long time due to long business trips.

Hamada Hiroaki, a researcher at the security company SECOM, advised, "To prevent crimes targeting vacant houses, frequently collect flyers stuck in mailboxes and remove weeds." In fact, another group of Vietnamese nationals said after their arrest, "We found vacant houses by seeing grass growing in front of the house."

Researcher Hamada added, "Lighting equipped with human detection sensors, alarm devices, and timer-operated indoor lighting that makes it appear as if someone is home at night are also useful for preventing vacant house crimes."