Police arrested a 50-year-old part-time worker, Kazutoshi Iwama, for allegedly shoplifting a tin toy robot from the classic anime series "Tetsujin 28-go" at a Mandarake Inc. store that sells secondhand manga and anime collectibles.
The store's owner had threatened to disclose on the firm's website an unaltered photo of the man unless the stolen item, with a price tag of ¥270,000, was returned, after posting security camera footage of the alleged shoplifter with a digitally blurred face.
The unusual threat had raised ethical questions.