Man in Japan Arrested for Allegedly Stealing Over 700 Pieces of Women’s Underwear From Laundromats

Japanese police officers in the city of Beppu arrested a man after he allegedly stole 730 pieces of women’s underwear from coin laundromats in the area.

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Publicist

Image via Beppu City Police Office

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Japanese police officers in the city of Beppu arrested a man who allegedly stole hundreds of pieces of women’s underwear from local coin-operated laundromats in the area, Insider reports.

Tetsuo Urata, 56, was arrested on Aug. 24 after a 21-year-old female student said he stole six pairs of her underwear. Urata was arrested at his apartment and has since confessed to his crimes. Authorities found a massive haul of underwear at Urata’s residence as well. “We haven’t confiscated such a large number of panties in years,” a Beppu city police department spokesman told Japanese news outlets, per the New York Daily News. They claimed to have confiscated over 730 pairs of undergarments.

Surprisingly, crimes of this nature are becoming more common in Japan. In March, authorities arrested Takahiro Kubo, a 30-year-old electrician who claimed to have stolen over 400 pieces of underwear and swimsuits from teenage girls. Back in 2019, police also confiscated over 1,000 pairs of women’s underwear from a 40-year-old man who was storing them inside a futon at his residence. 

In the U.S., Alabama police discovered over 400 panties in the home of 27-year-old John Thomas Uda, who was accused of lifting them from laundromats in 2019, per The Daily Beast. He was also in possession of photos of women, including coworkers. “If we can keep [him] in jail the public will definitely be better for it,” Dothan Police Lt. Scott Owens said of the arrest.

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