HOKKAIDO (TR) – According to Japan’s Lost Property Act, owners of lost items have three months to claim them after finders hand them over to the authorities.
For 10 million yen in cash found in the trash in Sapporo City, the clock started ticking on January 30.
However, among the dozen or so potential claimants who had come forward through Sunday none put forth a convincing enough argument that they were the rightful owner.
Police announced on Monday that the government of Sapporo City is now the rightful owner of the funds.
On that day in January, a staff member at a recycling center in Sapporo’s Nishi Ward reported that a worker found the cash while sorting garbage. The wad of bills included a slip of paper with a stamp from a financial institution.
Once the announcement of the find hit the news, members of the public started coming forward — a total of 16, in fact. Police actually considered 12 of them to be legitimate cases.
“I may have thrown it away”
Two persons seemed to think they lost the money while in their cars. “I went shopping in Nishi Ward by car and lost 10 million yen wrapped in newspaper while walking from the parking lot,” one person said. “10 million yen disappeared from the bag in my car while I was making deliveries,” said another.
Forgetfulness was another theme. “Maybe my grandparents, who suffer from dementia, threw it out with the garbage,” supposed another. Another suggested, “I had 10 million yen in my closet, but I can’t find it. I may have thrown it away.”
Stabs in the dark were also a trend. One said, “I lost 10 million yen while traveling in Hokkaido.” Another claimed: “I lost 10 million yen in my bag at the park.”
Amusingly, one claimant failed to get the total amount correct (though that fact may have lent credence to his claim of inebriation): “I was drunk and lost 5 million yen.”
In the end, nobody could prove to the authorities that they were in fact the true owner.
Sapporo City will decide how to use the 10 million yen after the funds are formally received.
