An 80-year-old woman in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, was injured in the head Monday by a man who snatched her bag, police said.
A local high school student witnessed a man snatch her bag and get into a car driven by another man, police said.
The woman was taken to a local hospital.
Her condition was not immediately known but she was able to talk in the ambulance, police said.
Police are searching for the men, who are apparently both in their 40s.
The man who snatched the woman's bag wore a mask and a knitted cap, and was about 170 cm tall.
The car the men escaped in was silver, police said.