Bags containing Japanese government's emergency stockpile rice are brought to a rice mill in Saitama Prefecture, Japan March 18, 2025, in this photo released by Kyodo. Photo: Kyodo via Reuters
One of them admitted the wrongdoing while the others did not.
The three are suspected of shoplifting 28 items worth 106,000 yen in total, including 19 bags of rice, at two supermarkets in Gunma Prefecture, north of Tokyo, around 3:30 pm September 12.
They apparently visited seven supermarkets on the day, leaving each store in three to five minutes from their arrival.
Security camera footage has shown that they put rice bags in shopping carts and took them outside without paying.
According to the third investigation division of the police, the three are believed to have stolen goods, mainly rice, at about 60 supermarkets in five prefectures in the Kanto region--Ibaraki, Tochigi, Gunma, Saitama and Chiba--between April 15 and May 15.
As copies of delivery slips for rice were found in a car they used, the police are investigating the distribution channels for the stolen rice.
The three had been subject to a home search over another theft case, over which they were arrested and charged with offenses including immigration control law violations.
