Two trash collectors allegedly took home about ¥10 million in cash they found at a waste disposal center in Tamura, Fukushima Prefecture, the authorities said Monday.
Police said they plan to refer the case to prosecutors on charges of theft.
According to the city, three workers at the waste center found the cash when they were sorting the garbage on Feb. 27. Two of them allegedly pocketed the find.
The following day, one of the men reported the found cash to a local environment center that processes garbage at the waste center, but he gave an estimate of the amount to be in the "tens of thousands of yen," the authorities said.
The police questioned the men in response to a call from the city and found that the actual amount came to about ¥10 million, they said.
The owner of the cash remains unknown, a city official said.