Toyota Alphard is Japan's 3rd highest reported stolen car in 2020-22, guess what's number 1?

Japan might be generally seen as a safe country but reports of carjacking still occur in the country with among the world’s lowest crime rates. In fact, a report has shown that car theft incidents have risen slightly over the past 3 years.

Based on the latest data published by the General Insurance Association of Japan, 2,656 car theft cases were reported in 2022, an increase from 2,425 cases in 2021. Meanwhile, in 2020, 2,964 cases were reported which was the highest in the 3 years.

The most reported car stolen over the past 3 years in Japan is the Toyota Land Cruiser with 450 cases. This was followed by the Toyota Prius with 282 cases and the Toyota Alphard with 184 stolen vehicle cases reported.

Also read: The 2022 Toyota Land Cruiser 300 has fingerprint identification engine start button

In fact, Toyota models accounted for 7 of the top ten stolen vehicles reported between 2020 and 2022. The three non-Toyota models in the top ten were Lexus models which technically makes Toyota the most ‘popular’ brand among car thieves in Japan.

Also read: Wait, one of the most stolen cars in Japan is the Toyota Alphard?

The 10 models listed alone accounted for 54.7% of the total reported cases. Other targets include older 30-year-old JDMs like the Skyline GT-R and the FD RX-7. According to the data, 45.6% of the reported cases consisted of models made before 2012.

Also read: FD Mazda RX-7 gets stolen while owner looks on in horror

The data also showed that Aichi Prefecture is the hotbed of vehicle thefts reported and is followed by Osaka Prefecture and Chiba Prefecture. Coincidentally, the city of Toyota is located in Aichi Prefecture.

Still, a lot of these criminals barely get away with their stolen wheels. According to Japan’s National Police Agency, the arrest rate for car theft in 2022 is 45.6% which meant that nearly half of those reported cases saw the carjackers being arrested.

Many of these reported stolen cars would either make their way overseas as a recond car or be chopped up and dismantled into spare parts which would be harder to trace. Still, even a mostly safe country like Japan shows that it is better to be cautious of your own ride.