Toyama man referred to prosecutors for school shoe insole thefts

Daisuke Matsuzaki, a 35-year-old unemployed man, was referred to the Toyama District Public Prosecutors Office on the 18th following his arrest for breaking into a junior high school in Takaoka, Toyama Prefecture.

Police report that Matsuzaki entered a public junior high school through an unlocked window between the night of the 16th and the early morning of the 17th, stealing four pairs of shoe insoles. He was apprehended after police questioned him regarding a suspicious scooter parked in front of a school, discovering the stolen items in his jacket pocket.

Authorities are investigating whether Matsuzaki is linked to a series of similar thefts at high schools and junior high schools across western Toyama, including Takaoka and Imizu cities. At least 14 high schools have reported similar incidents, some involving insoles that had been forcibly removed from shoes.