Copper Price Surge Drives Water Meter Thefts... Rash of Burglaries Targeting Vacant Homes in Japan

"If Tap Water Suddenly Stops, Please Report Immediately"

As copper prices have soared, a series of thefts targeting water meters in multi-family residential buildings has been reported in Japan. The crimes appear to be aimed at the bronze inside the meters, with vacant homes in particular becoming primary targets.

According to Nikkei and other sources on April 30, ten water meters were stolen from a public rental apartment complex in Machida, Tokyo on April 18. Subsequently, 21 additional meters disappeared from a nearby complex. The crimes came to light when residents discovered water leaking in the corridor, and the total estimated losses exceeded 140,000 yen (approximately KRW 1,320,000).

Water Meter. Photo unrelated to specific expressions in the article. Photo by Jinhyung Kang

In Kanagawa Prefecture, there were 455 reported cases of water meter thefts between January and late April this year, already more than double the total number of cases reported last year (228). In Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture, there was also an incident in which approximately 1,300 discarded water meters, stored for scrap metal sale, were stolen in their entirety. The estimated value of the losses was about 450,000 yen (approximately KRW 4,270,000).

Bronze is an alloy of copper and tin, and recently, as international copper prices have surged, the prices of related non-ferrous metals have also gone up. Copper is a representative conductive metal used for electrical wiring, and in recent years, demand has increased significantly due to the growth of the wind turbine, electric vehicle, and artificial intelligence (AI) data center industries. In fact, last month, Japanese non-ferrous metal giant JX Metals raised its benchmark copper transaction price to 2,310,000 yen per ton, marking an all-time high. Compared to the same period last year (1,470,000 yen), this is a sharp increase of about 57%.

Japanese local governments have responded by taking measures such as preemptively removing water meters from long-vacant apartments free of charge to prevent further damage. An official from the Tokyo Metropolitan Waterworks Bureau emphasized, "If tap water suddenly stops running or you notice any suspicious circumstances, please report it to the authorities or the police immediately."

Meanwhile, as copper prices have surged, related crimes have also been occurring in Korea. In March, a man in his 60s was caught by police in Anseong, Gyeonggi Province, while attempting to steal about 200 meters of copper cable for power supply that had been buried underground in a residential development district. He was accused of opening a manhole cover with tools he had prepared in advance and cutting the cable using wire cutters.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.