Washlet toilets are seen at a Toto Ltd. showroom in Beijing in this unrelated July 30, 2021 file photo. (Mainichi/Yoshinori Ogura)

       TOKYO -- A man who allegedly stole more than a dozen "Washlet" spray toilet seats from a warehouse with the aim of selling them off at a hefty price has been arrested, the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) announced on Nov. 30.

       Hiroaki Takano, 39, an unemployed resident of Kashiwa, Chiba Prefecture, stands accused of theft and trespassing, according to the MPD's third investigation division.

       Spray toilet seats have been in short supply amid shortages of parts and other effects stemming from the coronavirus pandemic. Takano has apparently admitted to the allegations against him. "I thought the items would fetch a good price. I wanted cash to spend on my entertainment," he was quoted as telling investigators.

       The MPD is investing the case on the assumption that Takano stole a total of 92 spray toilet seats -- worth around 8 million yen (about $70,500) in total -- from storehouses in the Tokyo suburban city of Tachikawa and in the city of Shiroi, Chiba Prefecture, between April and November.

       He is specifically accused of sneaking into a warehouse of a housing equipment distributor in Tachikawa between around 11 p.m. on Nov. 12 and 2 a.m. the following day, and stealing 17 Washlet toilet seats -- worth a total of around 2.3 million yen (about $20,300).

       According to the MPD's third investigation division, Takano apparently used his bare hands to open a hole on the wall of the warehouse to intrude into it. The hole was large enough for a person to get through. He allegedly sold off the stolen items to dealers.

       (Japanese original by Kazuki Mogami, Tokyo City News Department)

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