Toyota Land Cruiser is Japan's most stolen car of 2023, Alphard "climbs" to 2nd place

Japan might be one of the safest countries in the world but that doesn't mean crime is virtually non-existent.

Every year since 2000, the General Insurance Association of Japan (SONPO) publishes its report on car thefts in the country and topping the list for the most stolen vehicle of 2023 is the Toyota Land Cruiser.

2023 saw 383 reported cases of stolen Land Cruisers in Japan, a 14.8% drop compared to the previous year (450 cases). This is the third consecutive year the Land Cruiser was ranked the most stolen car in Japan and the number of cases also includes the Land Cruiser Prado.

In second place is the Toyota Alphard which saw 364 reported cases last year. The Alphard has been climbing up the ranks over the past 3 years with 2023’s cases nearly doubled compared to 2022 (184 cases).

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

The Toyota Prius which was the second highest reported theft case in 2021 and 2022 fell behind the Alphard last year in third. Unfortunately, the number of stolen Prius reports climbed from 282 cases in 2022 to 307 cases in 2023.

Aside from the top 4 stolen cars – number 4 was the Lexus LX with 120 cases – the rest of the top ten most stolen cars in Japan in 2023 had double-digit figures. According to SONPO, a total of 2,597 stolen vehicles were reported in 2023 which was down by 2% compared to the year before (2,656 cases).

Toyota and Lexus vehicles occupy the nine most reported stolen vehicle cases of 2023. In fact, Toyota and Lexus vehicles were the only models listed in the top ten most stolen cars of 2021 and 2022.

2023 saw a non-Toyota/Lexus model being ranked in the top ten. Tying at 9th place with 37 cases alongside the Toyota Harrier is Mercedes-Benz. SONPO did not specify what Mercedes-Benz model though which was unusual since it specifically listed the individual Toyota and Lexus models.

Also read: Roppongi's Ativa - Why Japan's wealthy love the Mercedes-Benz G-Class so much

SONPO also revealed that the majority (58.4%) of stolen vehicle cases occurred between 10 pm and 9 am. Meanwhile, 27.7% of vehicle thefts occurred between 9 am and 5 pm and 7.7% of thefts happened between 5 pm and 10 pm.