OSAKA -- Osaka produces some of Japan's best comedians, tastiest food and most enterprising businesspeople. But who should really be taking the credit for keeping the prefecture at No. 1 over the past 25 years are its purse-snatchers.
Last year, there were a record-high 10,973 purse-snatching cases within its borders, according to the Osaka Prefectural Police, accounting for 23.8 percent of all such incidents reported across the country. And the figure was nearly double that of the second-ranked prefecture, Tokyo, which saw 5,910 purse-snatching cases.
In a bid to show its eagerness to combat the crime, prefectural police this year launched a campaign to "root out purse-snatching and other street crimes." The prefectural headquarters has set up a task force to devise ways to tackle the problem, and police stations in various areas have reinforced their patrols in order to deter offenders, who often operate on motorcycles.