According to the Yomiuri, Osaka is in danger of losing its title as the purse-snatching capital of Japan, a record it has held for 33 years. The graph above show the incidence of cases in the first six months of 2009 and the gap between Osaka and the second-placed region hasn't been closer since 1999. The difference is down to 394 reported incidents. Police say there has been a nationwide increase in such crimes since the economy turned down. So far this year, the number two area for purse-snatching is Kanagawa prefecture which has seen a whopping 78.8% increase over last year compared with only a 2.3% climb in Osaka. Even Tokyo saw a 54% increase so there are strong regional differences. At this rate, Osaka will be knocked off the top spot. Osaka police are claiming credit for stronger efforts to control the city's problem - the eleventh of every month has been declared an "anti purse-snatching day" - but it's worth noting that the crime remains a major problem for them.
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Nope. I was in a game center in central Osaka and saw a guy go up to a "print club" machine and grab some girl's bag that was sitting on the floor just inside the machine. He took off so I took off after him and caught up to him outside in a public square. Was thinking to tackle him but ended up just grabbing his jacket and yanking him down to the ground. (Should have thrown him into the fountain.) The guy was terrified, was funny as hell. The girls were happy to get the bag back and I ended up screaming at the guy for awhile and then just leaving. Figured getting the cops involved was as likely to lead to trouble for me as it was to lead to trouble for him. The joy of being a gaijin in Japan eh.
