A total of 1,800 packs of cigarettes were found stolen from a tobacconist in Toyota, Aichi Prefecture, on Sunday, two days after 3,300 packs were pilfered from a grocery store in the same prefecture, police said.
The thefts came after the government raised the tobacco tax by 1 yen per cigarette, prompting major tobacco companies to increase their prices by 20 yen to 30 yen a pack to about 300 yen on Saturday.