Discarded suitcases are piling up at airports and train stations across Japan as foreign tourist numbers climb.
The Tokyo metropolitan government took in about 2,000 more abandoned suitcases last year than in 2022, when it collected roughly 2,600, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported on the 14th. Most were found at airports and along passageways inside train stations, with the largest number turned in to the Tokyo Airport Police Station, which covers Haneda Airport.
The newspaper attributed the trend to rising foreign arrivals and demand for replacement luggage. Some travelers buy a larger suitcase after accumulating goods during their trip and throw away the one they brought, while others dump bags to avoid airline excess baggage fees.
Police hold found suitcases for three months, but about 70% are never claimed. Bags left beyond that period become property of the Tokyo metropolitan government and are sold to companies through public tenders. With large suitcases taking up storage space, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department set aside a dedicated area for airport finds at its lost-and-found center.
Other airports face the same problem. Narita Airport took in 1,201 suitcases last year, about 50% more than three years earlier. Kansai International Airport found 315 between April and August, and 40% were returned to their owners. Chubu Centrair International Airport finds about 50 abandoned each month.
Visitor numbers keep growing. The Japan National Tourism Organization said 42,683,600 foreign travelers visited Japan in 2025, up 15.8% from 36,870,148 a year earlier. The Yomiuri Shimbun reported in September 2025 that Kansai Airport handled 816 abandoned suitcases in fiscal 2024, more than the 716 it handled in fiscal 2019. In a survey of 34 lodging operators conducted by the Osaka Convention & Tourism Bureau in June and July of that year, 85% said abandoned suitcases had caused problems.
The burden on the ground has grown as well. An official at the Chubu Airport Police Station of the Aichi Prefectural Police said handling suitcases consumes staff and time, which could disrupt airport patrols and security duties. The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department has issued warnings in English, Chinese and Korean, saying that dumping a suitcase can be treated as illegal disposal under the waste management law. Illegal dumping can carry up to five years in prison or a fine of up to 10 million yen, according to Hong Kong outlet The Standard.
A tourism scholar said replacement demand is rising because decent-quality suitcases are easy to buy in Japan at modest prices. The expert proposed that retailers operate collection points for used suitcases and charge disposal fees, and stressed that the central government, local governments and private operators should build a joint collection and disposal system.