TOYAMA (TR) – Police in Takaoka City have arrested a 35-year-old unemployed man accused of breaking into a local middle school and stealing the shoe insoles of female students, reports Nippon News Network (Oct. 19).
Daisuke Matsuzaki was sent to prosecutors on charges of trespassing and theft after being caught with eight insoles stuffed inside his jacket’s left breast pocket.
“I broke into the school and stole the shoe insoles from the shoe racks,” Matsuzaki admitted to officers at the scene.
The arrest unfolded at around 4:00 a.m. on October 17. A police officer on routine patrol noticed an unattended scooter parked on the street near a public middle school. Shortly after, Matsuzaki appeared. An on-the-spot search revealed the stolen goods, leading to his immediate arrest.
Investigators believe Matsuzaki gained entry to the school building through an unlocked ground-floor sliding window.
Police are now investigating his motive and exploring potential links to a string of similar bizarre thefts in the region. Across Toyama Prefecture, multiple middle and high schools have recently reported thefts of female students’ shoe insoles.
Disturbingly, investigators noted that many of the targeted victims were female students whose names and profiles had been published online due to their achievements in club activities or local television appearances.