An expert panel of Japan’s National Police Agency released a report Thursday calling for mandatory identity verification for scrap metal transactions following a surge in copper wire theft cases in the country.
The report also proposed the introduction of a notification system for scrap metal buyers to be in business. The NPA plans to draw up a related bill and submit it to the Diet.
The number of scrap metal buyers is estimated at between 50,000 and 100,000 nationwide. The report said that administrative measures such as issuing business suspension orders should be taken against malicious operators.
According to the NPA, the number of recognized metal theft cases in 2023 was 16,276, three times higher than in 2020, reflecting soaring prices of copper and other metals. The total damage was about ¥13.2 billion, of which 80% was related to metal cables such as copper wires.
The number of such theft cases is seen to have exceeded 20,000 in 2024, including 6,742 metal cable theft cases provisionally reported at solar power generation facilities between January and November.
Stolen copper wires are often brought to buyers as scrap metal. But there is no law requiring identity verification of those who bring in scrap metal for sale, making it easier to cash in stolen items. During the panel’s discussions, members stressed the need for nationwide regulation.
In its report, the panel called for obliging scrap metal buyers to check the sellers’ photo IDs, create and keep transaction records and report suspected stolen items to the police. It said the envisaged regulations should be limited to copper for the time being.
The panel also said the act of concealing tools such as cable cutters, which can be misused for stealing copper wires, should be punished.
