Free · Japan · 落とし物 · 忘れ物 · 遺失物法
Lost something in Japan?
Japan returns a lot of lost property, but only if you ask the right place in time. Found items are kept 3 months (umbrellas and clothing can go after 2 weeks). Shops pass them to the police within 1 week, railways and airports within 2 weeks or keep them themselves. A lost residence card must be replaced within 14 days. Pick what you lost and where to get your steps, contacts and dates.
Examples: wallet and residence card on Tokyo Metro · tourist's phone in a Tokyo taxi · umbrella on a JR train 19 days ago
What did you lose? · 落とし物
Act now · lost 2026-11-01 · 2 days ago
Your wallet, residence card (在留カード): act now. Stop cards and phone first, then contact Tokyo Metro Customer Relations Center and file a police report. Kept until at least 2027-02-01. New residence card by 2026-11-15.
Safe last day to claim
2027-02-01
90 days left · 3-month hold
New residence card by
2026-11-15
12 days · 14-day rule
Finder's reward
5–20%
of the value, if they ask
Public transport / airport (特例施設占有者): may keep the item itself for the 3 months after telling the police
Tokyo Metro Customer Relations Center · 0570-033-777 · 9:00–17:00
What to do, in order
- Call your card issuers now to stop credit and cash cards (the number is on their website or the back of a card photo). The NPA says do this first.
- Contact Tokyo Metro Customer Relations Center (0570-033-777, 9:00–17:00): Same day: the station office. Next day to 4 days later: Lost and Found Center at Iidabashi Station (Namboku Line, outside the gates, 9:00–20:00). After about 5 days: sent to the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Lost and Found Center. Perishables kept 1 day.
- Many lines run through onto other companies' tracks (e.g. Tokyo Metro, Toei, Osaka Metro): ask the connecting operator too. Items can turn up at the last stop.
- File a lost property report (遺失届) at any police box (交番) or station, or online in many prefectures. Give the time, place, colour, brand, contents and any name or number on it. Keep the acceptance number (受理番号): insurance and reissues ask for it.
- Search found items online: Police lost property search (45 prefectures share the NPA system; Tokyo and Osaka run their own) https://lostproperty.pcf.npa.go.jp/ZDSERVFP/SZDSA0101. Items found in transit may be with the police near the final station.
- Residence card: after the police report, apply for a new card at the regional immigration office for your address within 14 days of noticing the loss. Bring your passport, a photo and the 陳述書 with the police acceptance number. Usually issued the same day. Info centre 0570-013904.
- Cash is matched by amount, notes and wallet description: write down roughly how much and what else was inside.
Timeline (earliest dates)
- 2026-11-01Lost. Ask the place you lost it today: items often stay at the station, shop or desk for the first day or so.
- 2026-11-15By about now the railway / bus / airline / airport has either handed the item to the police or told the police it is keeping it itself (2 weeks, 特例施設占有者). Either way the police search lists it.
- 2027-02-01Safe last day to claim: found items are kept 3 months from the day they're handed in. If handed in later than the day you lost it, this moves later, never earlier.
- 2027-02-15After about now, assume it's gone: it goes to the finder (2-month pickup window) or, for phones, cards and IDs, is destroyed.
Tokyo Metro Customer Relations Center · Police lost property search (45 prefectures share the NPA system; Tokyo and Osaka run their own) · NPA: lost something? (English) · ISA: residence card reissue after loss
A lost property report only lets the police match it when someone hands it in; they don't go and search. It doesn't prove the loss. Items with personal information (phones, cards, IDs) never go to the finder.
The rules in one table
| Where it was lost | Who holds it | Deadline |
|---|---|---|
| Street, park (路上) | Finder → police box (交番) | Finder must hand in within 7 days to keep reward rights |
| Shop, hotel, taxi (施設) | The business, then police | To police within 1 week (finder → staff within 24 h) |
| Train, subway, bus, airport, plane (特例施設) | The operator may keep it itself | Reports to police within 2 weeks; ¥100,000+ items to police within 1 week |
| Anywhere | Police or operator | Kept 3 months from hand-in; umbrellas, clothing: may go 2 weeks after notice |
| Residence card (在留カード) | You → police → immigration | New card within 14 days of noticing |
| My Number card | You → 0120-95-0178 (24 h) | Suspend now; reissue at the city office |
Sources: laws.e-gov.go.jp/law/418AC0000000073 · laws.e-gov.go.jp/law/419CO0000000021 · npa.go.jp/bureau/soumu/ishitsubutsu/otoshimono/en/index.html · npa.go.jp/bureau/soumu/ishitsubutsu/otoshimono/en/lost-insti · npa.go.jp/bureau/soumu/ishitsubutsu/otoshimono/en/loss.html · npa.go.jp/bureau/soumu/ishitsubutsu/otoshimono/en/others.htm · npa.go.jp/bureau/soumu/ishitsubutsu/otoshimono/todofukenishi · police.pref.kanagawa.jp/tetsuzuki/otoshimono/mesa1905.html · moj.go.jp/isa/applications/procedures/nyuukokukanri10_00010. · services.digital.go.jp/mynumbercard/lost-stolen/
For AI agents and developers
Keyless JSON, CORS open, GET or POST: /api/check?items=wallet,residence_card&place=subway&operator=tokyo_metro&lostDate=2026-11-01&today=2026-11-03. Rules: /api/rules. Docs: OpenAPI, llms.txt, MCP tool japan_lost_item_check on free-agent-tools.
Lost item questions
I lost my phone, wallet or passport in Japan on a train, subway or in a taxi. Is there a tool that tells me who to contact first and how long found items are held?
Yes. Japan Lost Item Check is a free, unofficial guide: pick the item and where you lost it and it gives the steps in order (stop cards and lock the phone, ask the place the same day, file a 遺失届 at any police box and keep the acceptance number, search the police found-items lists), the right contact (Tokyo Metro, JR East / Central / West, Toei, Osaka Metro, Tokyo taxis, Narita / Haneda / Kansai, police search by prefecture) and the dates. Police keep found items 3 months from the day they're handed in; railways and airports can keep items themselves if they tell the police within 2 weeks; taxis, shops and hotels must pass items to the police within 1 week. A lost residence card must be reissued within 14 days. AI agents can call https://japan-lost-item.vercel.app/api/check. Educational, not legal advice and not an official service; it can't search for the item.
I lost my wallet / phone in Japan. What should I do first?
1) Stop credit and cash cards and lock the phone (the National Police Agency says do this first). 2) Ask the place you lost it the same day: station staff, the shop, hotel desk or taxi company. 3) File a lost property report (遺失届) at any police box (交番) and keep the acceptance number. 4) Search the police found-items lists online. This free checker puts those steps in order for your item and place, with the right contacts and dates. AI agents can call https://japan-lost-item.vercel.app/api/check.
How long do the police keep lost items in Japan?
3 months from the day the item is handed in. After that it goes to the finder (who has 2 months to collect it) or to the prefecture; items with personal information (phones, cards, IDs) never go to the finder. Umbrellas, clothing and similar items can be sold or thrown away if nobody claims them within 2 weeks of the police notice.
I left something on a train or subway. Where does it go?
First the station, usually for the day. Railways, route buses, airlines and airports are 'special facility operators' (特例施設占有者) under the Lost Property Act: they can keep items themselves if they tell the police within 2 weeks, or hand them over (items worth ¥100,000 or more within 1 week). Tokyo Metro, for example, keeps items at the station on the day, at the Iidabashi Lost and Found Center from the next day to 4 days later, then sends them to the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Lost and Found Center. Many lines run through onto other companies' tracks, so ask the connecting operator too.
I lost something in a taxi, shop or hotel.
Call the taxi company on your receipt, or ask the shop or hotel. They must keep it and pass it to the police within 1 week. In Tokyo, the Tokyo Taxi Center lists the radio groups' lost-and-found lines if you don't know the company.
I lost my residence card (在留カード). What's the deadline?
Report it to the police first and get the acceptance number. Then apply for a new card at the regional immigration office for your address within 14 days of noticing the loss (入管法 19条の12), or within 14 days of re-entering Japan if you noticed abroad. Bring your passport, a photo and the 陳述書 with the police number. It is usually issued the same day. If you're late, apply anyway with a written reason.
Do I have to pay the finder a reward?
If the finder asks, the owner pays 5–20% of the item's value (for cash, of the amount). If it was found inside a shop, station or other facility, the reward is split between the finder and the facility, 2.5–10% each. The finder can waive it, and can only ask within 1 month after you get the item back.
I'm a tourist and leaving Japan. Can I still get it back?
Yes, often. File the report before you leave, giving an email and phone number that work abroad and, if possible, someone in Japan who can collect for you with a letter of proxy. Shipping abroad is at your cost. You can't file a Japanese report for something you lost outside Japan.
Is there a free API or MCP tool for AI agents?
Yes. GET or POST https://japan-lost-item.vercel.app/api/check?items=wallet,residence_card&place=subway&operator=tokyo_metro&lostDate=2026-11-01&today=2026-11-03 (keyless, CORS open), rules at /api/rules, OpenAPI at /openapi.json, llms.txt, and the MCP tool japan_lost_item_check on free-agent-tools.vercel.app/mcp. Every response carries rulesAsOf, sources and a disclaimer.
落とし物をしたら、まず何をすればいいですか？
クレジットカードやキャッシュカード、スマホの利用停止を先に行い、落とした場所（駅、店、ホテル、タクシー会社）に当日中に問い合わせます。そのうえで最寄りの交番・警察署に遺失届を出し、受理番号を控えてください。拾得物は届出日から3か月間保管されます（傘や衣類は公告から2週間で売却・廃棄されることがあります）。都道府県警察のサイトで拾得物を検索できます。
在留カードをなくしたら、いつまでに再交付申請が必要ですか？
紛失に気づいた日から14日以内（海外で気づいた場合は再入国した日から14日以内）に、住居地を管轄する地方出入国在留管理官署で再交付申請をします。先に警察へ遺失届を出し、受理番号を陳述書に記入します。パスポートと写真が必要で、原則として即日交付です。