TOKYO (TR) — Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested a 16-year-old male student from Osaka Prefecture for allegedly stealing a hand strap from a East Japan Railway (JR East) train last year, reports TV Asahi (May 20).
At around 10:15 p.m. on October 4, the suspect, a third-year middle school student at the time, allegedly used a screwdriver to steal the hand strap from a JR Keiyo Line train at Tokyo Station in Chiyoda Ward.
Upon his arrest, the teen, who was visiting the capital with a friend, admitted to the allegations, telling investigators, “I always kept a screwdriver in my backpack so I could steal a train strap whenever the opportunity arose.”
The boy’s brazen theft was nearly foiled mid-act. As he was attempting to detach a second hand strap, a station attendant approached him. The quick-thinking teen attempted to bluff his way out of the situation, claiming, “The screw was loose, so I’m fixing it.”
However, an eagle-eyed passenger who had watched the entire ordeal unfold quickly intervened, telling the attendant, “The one over there is already missing.”
During police questioning, the suspect revealed a deep obsession with railway culture as his motive.
“I love the departure melody at Shimbashi Station, and I came to Tokyo just to hear it,” the teen explained. “I was also interested in railway equipment, so I planned to steal a strap if I found one that looked easy to take.”
Prior to the arrest, JR East had consulted police regarding a string of missing hand straps from parked trains in the capital. The railway operator noted that security camera footage had captured a suspect appearing to be a high school student.
During a subsequent search of the boy’s home, investigators discovered a stash of multiple train straps. Police are now investigating his connection to the broader series of railway thefts.
