Finders Hand in Record ¥4.5 Billion in Lost Cash to Tokyo Police in 2025

A Record for the Fourth Straight Year

The Metropolitan Police Department reports that 4.8 million lost items were handed into police stations in Tokyo in 2025, a 2.0% year-on-year increase. This included ¥4.5 billion in cash, up 0.5% over the same period.

The amount of cash set a new record for the fourth consecutive year, and represented 54.2% of the total cash reported lost, which was ¥8.3 billion.

The most common lost items handed into police stations were driver’s licenses and credit cards at 819,602 (16.9% of all items), followed by transit smart cards, commuter passes, and gift certificates at 471,399 (9.7%); clothing and footwear at 460,667 (9.5%); electronic devices at 403,708 (8.3%); and wallets and purses at 338,104 (7.0%).

A total of 225,236 cell phones were reported lost by the owners in 2025, equivalent to an average of 610 every day. Meanwhile, 144,381 phones were handed in to the police after they were found. Around half the phones, or 119,516, were eventually returned to their owners.

According to the National Police Agency, if items have not been claimed after three months, ownership transfers to the finder. However, after a further two months, if the finder does not claim the item, ownership passes to the prefecture.

Of the ¥4.5 billion in cash handed in to the Tokyo police that was processed in 2025, around ¥3.2 billion was returned to owners, ¥600 million went to finders, and ¥700 million reverted to the metropolis of Tokyo.

Data Sources

• Data about lost items in 2025 (Japanese) from the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department.

(Translated from Japanese. Banner photo © Pixta.)