"My luggage got heavier? I'll just dump it and buy a new one"... Japan grapples with 4,600 abandoned suitcases

4,600 suitcases found in Tokyo last year... up 1.8-fold in four years
Illegal dumping at airports surges as foreign tourist numbers rise
Tourists dumping old bags to avoid extra baggage fees

As the number of foreign tourists to Japan surges, cases of people abandoning travel suitcases without authorization at airports and major railway stations are on the rise.

Earlier, a photo of a travel suitcase abandoned on a street in Japan also drew attention on social media (SNS). Screenshot from X.

According to the Nikkei newspaper on October 12, about 4,600 suitcases were found in Tokyo in 2025. That was 1.8 times the roughly 2,600 recorded in 2022.

The suitcases were found most often at Tokyo Airport Police Station, which has jurisdiction over Haneda Airport, as well as at major railway stations and along roadsides. Police store the suitcases for about three months. If no owner comes forward during that time, they become the property of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and are later sold to businesses at auction. However, owners ultimately fail to claim about 70% of the stored suitcases.

The sharp increase in abandoned suitcases is being attributed to foreign tourists unlawfully dumping them to avoid extra fees for carry-on baggage. After entering Japan, tourists whose luggage grows heavier from shopping buy larger suitcases near airports, then leave their old bags in departure-lounge lobbies or nearby areas before leaving the country.

At Narita Airport, 1,201 suitcases were collected in 2025, 1.5 times the number recorded three years earlier. At Kansai International Airport and Chubu Centrair International Airport, dozens to hundreds of suitcases are also abandoned each month.

Suitcases whose owners are unknown and whose contents cannot be verified must undergo explosive detection and X-ray screening to guard against the risk of terrorism. This has also increased the workload of airport police. An official at Aichi Prefecture's Chubu Airport Police Station told the Nikkei, "The screenings take a great deal of personnel and time, disrupting our core public safety duties, including airport security."

The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department has posted notices in English, Chinese and Korean on its official website to inform the public that abandoning suitcases without authorization is a crime under the Waste Management and Public Cleansing Act. Experts say notices alone are unlikely to prevent illegal dumping, and call for practical measures, such as establishing a system to collect used suitcases and charging a collection fee.

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