Lost and found system in Japan is great

You are in the middle of a city in Japan and sit on a bench to relax. You put down your wallet or cell phone. But you forget to gather it after getting up. You might panic, but calm down. Japan has an efficient and unique way of helping people reunite with their lost items. It is in Japanese culture that missing items are taken to a local police station or Koban (a police box). Lout and found items are cataloged and stored so that the owner could reclaim them.

The Lost and Found system of Japan is very superb. The Japanese have a sense of responsibility. No matter what they found,  whether it be cash or an umprella, the lost item will be deposited at the Lost and Found center.  According to the BBC report, 85 percent of cell phones and 74 percent of lost wallets in Tokyo were returned to their owners in 2021. This unprecedented culture of Japan is acknowledged globally. 

Japan has Lost and Found centers at busy Airports, Railway Stations, Shopping malls, etc across the country. 

Online database for lost and found items

According to the Japanese Police, an online database is availableAnything lost throughout the country will be tracked through the online system. Currently, only 9 prefectural/municipal police stations are operating on an online database. 

How to retrieve lost items

Registration of the lost items

As the lost items are received by the local police. The items are registered and kept for a month. If none claim items within the period of a month, they are sent to Tokyo’s Lost and Found center. The center is located at Bunkyo Ward which is a six-story building that can accommodate almost 900,000 lost items. According to the Chief of the center, the center receives 5000 visits per day from owners of the items. The website of the center assists people searching for missing belongings. Some of the less important things like clothes, musical instruments, etc are sold by the local government to the wholesalers who hold Masturi sales monthly.  

Koban (Police box)

If you are a traveler or anyone that is exploring Japan and lose any belonging. The foremost thing that needs to be done is to approach the Koban Box. It is a small municipal police station, which is very helpful to find and receive lost items. There are about 6500 Koban Boxes spread across the country.  A police officer at Koban in Tokyo said that they receive more than 30 items per day. 

Lost and found center at the airport

It is often at the airport when people are in a rush that items are lost. The airports have a lost and found center that helps people get their lost items if registered with the center.  If the passenger loses anything while onboard the Airline, the Airline can be contacted in this regard. Lost and found centers of Narita Airport and Haneda Tokyo International Airport are worth mentioning. 

Lost and found at Narita Airport are often used by international tourists to Japan who lost some items inlcding the whole suitcase and laptop PC’s. It is said that people leave behind all kinds of items at Narita Airport.  Some people leave items behind after they have gone through the immigration and customs.

Railway station lost and found centers

Japan has one of the fastest and biggest Railway network systems in the world. That is why most people use trains for commuting. 

• Iidabashi Station Tokyo

The lost and found center at Iidabashi station Tokyo is one of the largest centers employing more than 50 staff handling found items. On a cold and rainy day, there is an influx of Umbrellas and bags of Handkerchiefs which are processed quickly. 

• JR Eeast Station

The station has a large lost and found operation. Annually it receives more than 2 million items. In Tokyo’s 23 wards, the Ueno station is a collection point. Almost 30 percent of the items collected at the station are returned to the owner. 

• Osaka Station

The Osaka Station is a mammoth railway station in the country. The last and found center facilitates the owner of the lost items. The items in abundance include Cell phones, Umbrellas, and Glasses.  The lost items are held for three days at the station. Afterward, the items are transported to the police station. 

Taxi lost and found

The Taxi drivers in Japan give a receipt to the passenger on board with the number of the taxi on it. Make sure to keep the receipt safe. In case something is left in the taxi, try to call on the number on the receipt. In case of no receipt try to remember which company taxi you used and call them. Most of the taxi drivers speak Japanese only. It will be a plus if you are familiar with basic Japanese to retrieve the lost item. 

Requirement fo claiming lost prpperty

• The authorities concerned will ask you for showing your passport or ID to claim the lost item.
• You will be asked to describe the item that you have lost. For example color, company, model, etc of the cell phone lost.

Tips on how not to lose property

• Try to tag your items with your phone number or address written on them. To make it convenient for lost and found centers to reach out to you.
• Always try to look back at your seat after getting up. It will help you if there is anything left or forgotten
• Try to carry fewer things which will reduce the chances of losing them.
• In case of a missing item, foremost try to contact the lost and found center nearby.

Japan has the best system lost and found system in the world. It has been replicated in many countries around the world. The Western World especially has tried hard in this regard but is yet to achieve consolidated results. It is not the infrastructure alone that helps in retrieving the objects. But, it is the culture of Japan. In schools, at a tender age, the children are taught to return the found items to the nearest center.