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Japan's low crime rate may be traced in part to its homogenous society and gun-free culture, but also to the ways in which its police have pushed the envelope on community relations. Correspondent Lucy Craft went on patrol with Tokyo's ubiquitous and helpful police officers, whose guns remain holstered, and whose job includes everything from listening to marital spats, to operating the world's largest lost-and-found.

Stolen watch worth $290,000 returned to store with apology note

By CBSNews Nov 3, 2026 | 7:08 AM

▶ Watch Video: Walking the beat in Japan, a “heaven for cops”

A Swiss luxury watch worth about $290,000 that was stolen from a Tokyo store last week has been returned with an apology note, according to local media.

The theft occurred when a man posing as a customer tried on the Audemars Piguet timepiece and then fled the shop in the Japanese capital while it was still on his wrist.

But the case took a twist when the store received a package containing the watch — and a handwritten note saying sorry, the Asahi Shimbun newspaper and other media reported on Monday, citing unnamed investigative sources.

The watch’s serial number reportedly identified it as the stolen item.

A name and address were also written on the package, but police believe the information is fake, the Japan Times reported.

The shop declined to comment when contacted by AFP.

Tokyo police are still searching for the man on suspicion of theft, according to the Asahi Shumbun.

In August, four luxury watches worth 200 million yen ($1.3 million) were stolen from another store in the same shopping complex. Two Chilean nationals were arrested on suspicion of theft in connection with the incident and subsequently indicted, the Japan Times reported.

Luxury watch store robbed at Tokyoâs Nakano Broadway
A man gestures as he speaks with a Japanese television reporter in an alley outside Nakano Broadway, reportedly used by the suspects to flee following a robbery at the Time Walker luxury watch store, in Tokyo’s Nakano district, Japan, August 25, 2026. 

David Mareuil/Anadolu via Getty Images

After that robbery, police conducted a crime prevention session for watch store owners, advising that they only display replicas, the Asahi Simbun reported. They were also taught how to use a special lining on display cases to make them difficult to break.