Tourism Abandoned suitcases turn into major nuisance for cities, airports, police

Airports across Japan are experiencing a rise in abandoned luggage, posing both safety risks and administrative challenges for staff. Travellers who realise at the last minute that their bags are too big for the cabin often decide to leave them behind. What might feel like a convenient solution for the passenger quickly turns into a serious problem, as police and airport staff are obliged to treat every unattended suitcase as a possible security threat.



The problem doesn't end there. Police stations tasked with handling the abandoned bags are running out of storage space, since the cases are officially treated as lost property. In one recent incident, Aichi Prefectural Police charged a man in his thirties who, in June, left a suitcase near the entrance of Chubu Airport's Terminal 2 with no intention of returning to retrieve it. Officials said the man had emptied the bag, then switched to another case borrowed from a family member after realising his own exceeded the size limit for carry-on. It was the first time since Chubu Airport opened in 2005 that authorities had dealt with a passenger knowingly violating waste disposal rules in such a manner.

Officials at Narita International Airport, Kansai International Airport and Chubu said the number of abandoned suitcases started to increase after Japan relaxed restrictions on entry imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic. For example, Narita Airport reported an increase in abandoned suitcases from 338 in fiscal 2021 to 1,073 in fiscal 2024. The figure for Chubu Airport was 22 to 85 during the same period. Kansai Airport said a record 816 suitcases were dumped in fiscal 2024, up from 221 in fiscal 2021. Unclaimed suitcases at airports are treated as suspicious items and police officers use X-ray to check for explosives. If the suitcase is found to not pose a danger, it is stored at the police station as a lost item. It usually takes around three hours to confirm whether an abandoned suitcase is just that and nothing more. In most cases, the bag is empty. One security scare in February involved a suspicious item wrapped in paper. Police officers had it X-rayed and determined the item was a pressure cooker similar to one used in the past by terrorists. Police sealed off the area and opened the pressure cooker but found it empty. It was also treated as a lost item.

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Unseen Japan has tips on what to do with your broken or unwanted suitcase instead (although most options do not apply to tourists about to depart):

The solution is to allocate part of the tourist/transportation taxes to the disposal of these items. Charge everyone an extra Y10 if you have to.