In recent impressive yet unsurprising news reported by the Guardian, Tokyo citizens turned in over ¥3.99 billion in lost cash to the police in 2022 instead of simply pocketing it. Yes, even in this economy!
While the city has long had a reputation for successfully returning lost property to its rightful owners, the missing cash handed over to authorities last year beat Tokyo’s 2019 record of ¥3.84 billion in recovered money.
Last year’s number was a roughly ¥616 million increase to the amount of lost money reported in 2021, which is attributed to the spike in socio-economic activities since the loosening of Covid-19 restrictions.
Of the money collected, roughly ¥479 million was awarded to the good samaritans after no claimant was identified within three months. Still, over ¥2.95 billion was returned to the rightful owners. The amount that was left unclaimed by the original owners and finders after a period of five months went to the government.
In addition to lost cash, Tokyo citizens also turned in 3.43 million lost items to the police last year. The most commonly found items were identification documents, followed by ‘securities’ such as pre-paid transport passes, clothing, wallets and umbrellas.
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