In 2025, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police recorded a new record in the management of lost property: 4.5 billion yen in cash returned, equal to approximately 24.5 million euros. A figure up by 0.5% compared to the previous year which once again confirms Japan as an almost unique case globally in terms of civic honesty.
How recovered money is handled
Among the most significant episodes, the return of a single sum of 27 million yen, approximately 150 thousand euros, entrusted to the police after being found stands out. Overall, over 70% of lost cash was found in public places: train stations, administrative offices and, increasingly, supermarkets, where automatic checkouts represent one of the main critical points.
The Japanese system provides for precise management of the sums recovered. Of the total 4.5 billion yen, 3.23 billion yen were returned to their rightful owners. Another 590 million were awarded to those who made the discovery, as required by law, while 680 million flowed into the coffers of the metropolitan government.
A phenomenon that also concerns lost objects
But the phenomenon is not just about money. Lost items also reached record numbers: around 4.5 million items handed over to the authorities, 3% more than the previous year. At the top of the ranking are driving licenses and identity documents, with 820 thousand units, followed by small electronic devices – such as wireless headphones – and objects of sentimental value, often considered irrecoverable.
Numbers that fit into a broader context. According to various international research, including those of the OECD, Japan is consistently among the countries with the highest levels of social trust and respect for civil norms. A model in which the sense of collective duty continues to prevail over individual interest.
And the data for 2025 seem to confirm this trend: the primacy of the Land of the Rising Sun in civic honesty, at least for now, does not appear to be in question.