OSAKA (TR) – Osaka Prefectural Police have arrested a 22-year-old man who stole stole a pair of vintage jeans from the U.S. and attempted to resell them, reports the Yomiuri Shimbun (Feb. 16).
On February 14, Yujiro Fukudome, a part-time employee at a restaurant, allegedly swiped the jeans — priced at 160,000 — from a shop in Osaka City’s Chuo Ward.
According to the Minami Police Station, the jeans, dating back to the 1930s, are the only pair of their type in Japan. The jeans have a cinch in the back to adjust the size of the waist, a feature that was popular in the U.S. before World War II.
Thereafter, the suspect visited another shop in Kita Ward and attempted to sell the jeans. After an internet search, a clerk at the store realized the scarcity of the item and telephoned the Chuo shop, which confirmed the theft, police said.
“In order to repay the debt, I targeted denim that I could resell,” the suspect was quoted by police in admitting the allegations.
