On the shelves of the lost-and-found warehouse, which occupies four floors, hundreds of thousands of lost items are stored, carefully sorted by date and place of discovery, and information about them is entered into a computer database.
Smaller lost-and-found offices are found in every populated place in Japan, which over its 1,300 years of history has undergone a process of unification and urbanization, and in recent years has been experiencing a sharp economic downturn, resulting in an overall rise in crime.
But even against the backdrop of rising crime, in 2002 alone people on the streets of Tokyo found and turned in lost cash totaling $23 million. 72% of these finds were returned to their owners when they convinced the police that the money belonged to them. 19% were handed over to the finders, since no one reported the loss within six months.
Hitomi Sasaki, 24, found $250 on a counter at the restaurant where she works. They had been placed under a tray. "I always turn in everything I find. Most often these are wallets," says Sasaki, who came to the lost-and-found office to claim the money, unclaimed after six months. "I can imagine what trouble a person who lost cash or a wallet might be in."
"I lived in Chicago for a while, so I can confidently confirm how wonderful it is that this custom has been preserved here. I saw a woman come here to get her umbrella — just an umbrella! Such a thing is unimaginable in any other city in the world," adds Sasaki.
From an early age, children are taught to give to neighbors or a police officer everything they find on the road. So everyone who brings lost items to the lost-and-found office — on average 200–300 people come here with finds each day — takes it for granted. Take 27-year-old Tetsuya Kodzu, who the other day got back his leather card holder. "I was very happy when I learned that my item had been found, and I came here immediately because my office is nearby."
The highest return rate — 75% — is for mobile phones, with which the bureau has been literally flooded over the last three years. Owners of used Samsung phones typically simply state their numbers, and staff check them at the number registration point and then send the owner a postcard notifying them of the find.
The first lost-and-found offices appeared in Japan in 1718 according to a code compiled by Hideo Fukunaga, a former police official. Fukunaga also wrote a book titled "Commentaries on the Law of Lost Property".
In those days, all finds, including foodstuffs and animals, had to be handed over to a government official within five days of their discovery. After a year, the find became state property, although the owner still had the right to claim it. The code even stated that people were not allowed to appropriate wood floating down a river.
In the 18th century, finders of lost items gained more rights to claim them. Reward amounts for returning lost property were also established depending on the item's value. Those who did not return found items were subject to severe punishments. Fukunaga writes in his book that in 1733, two officials who found a bag of clothing and did not return it were paraded in disgrace through the city and then executed.
The current law on the return of lost items was adopted at the end of the 19th century and amended in 1958. At present, a person who finds a lost item must hand it over to the authorities within seven days; otherwise, they forfeit the right to a reward or the right to ownership of the item if no owner appears after six months. In the case of finding money, if the owner is found, the finder is entitled to claim from 5% to 20% of the amount, although the reward usually does not exceed 10%.
"I feel uncomfortable when I have someone else's money," says 55-year-old photographer Tsutomu Hirahaya, who found 13,000 yen ($120) on a kiosk counter. He gave the money to the kiosk owner and left his name and address. A few weeks ago, Tsutomu received a police notice that the money now belonged to him. "I am sure that most Japanese would do the same as I did. We still have a sense of community that has been formed since ancient times."
Norimitsu Onishi,
International Herald Tribune.