TOKYO (TR) – Last year, the amount of lost cash returned to Tokyo Metropolitan Police reached a record 4.59 billion yen, the highest amount ever. For comparison, the figure was 4.49 billion yen in 2024.
However, such a high figure leads to many questions, including: What happened to all that cash?
For the answer, we turn to Nippon News Network (Mar. 4), which reports that most of it wound up back in the hands of those who lost it.
Approximately 3.23 billion yen of the 4.59 billion yen has been returned to its owners. In one case, a person left an attache case containing 27 million yen at a store. Further, approximately 590 million yen has been handed over to the finders.
As to the 680 million yen remaining, that is destined for Tokyo Metropolitan Government revenue.
Lost and found
It is not just cash. The total number of lost items returned was approximately 4.54 million, the highest figure since statistics began in 1940.
That converts to more than 12,000 items per day. More than 70 percent of these items were reported by a facility where the owner lost the item, such as a supermarket. The store staff will typically report such losses to a police station.
As to the reason for the record number of lost items, Tokyo police cited such factors such as an increase in foreign tourists and a surge in the number of people carrying small electronic devices like wireless earphones and e-cigarettes.
By type, the most common lost items were credit cards, cash cards and driver’s licenses, accounting for approximately 820,000 items.
Following these were pre-paid commuter passes (approximately 470,000 items), clothing and footwear (460,000), electrical appliances (400,000) and wallets (340,000).
