Handing over Lost Items to the Police
What happens if you did not turn over a wallet you found to the police, but instead kept it as your own?
You may be thinking a lot of reasons to justify your action such as nobody saw you, there was no security camera around, or it was only a small amount of money. But, finding lost money and taking it as your own is a criminal offense.
This offense is specified under the Japanese law as “embezzlement of lost property” and the punishment is imprisonment for at least 1 year or a fine of 100,000 yen or less.
If you happen to find a lost wallet or anything that you do not own, do not open or touch the items inside. Turn it over immediately to the nearest police box. It will be a great help to the person who lost his/her wallet.
