Police stations around Tsukuba have reported an increase in bicycle and motorcycle theft. To keep your bikes and motorcycles safe, you should park them in a managed area (and not on the road or sidewalk), use a lock in addition to the one that is built-in, and register them so that they can be identified as belonging to you if they are found.
Here are the statistics for vehicle theft in 2006 from the two police stations and the top five satellite offices in Tsukuba.
Tsukuba Central Police Station
Car thefts = 150 (down 26)
Motorcycle thefts = 235 (up 63)
Bicycle thefts = 693 (up 107)
Tsukuba North Police Station
Car thefts = 43 (up 7)
Motorcycle thefts = 7 (no change)
Bicycle thefts = 47 (up 3)
Tsukuba Station Koban
Car thefts = 13 (up 4)
Motorcycle thefts = 89 (up 27)
Bicycle thefts = 401 (up 75)
Matsushiro Koban
Car thefts = 30 (up 3)
Motorcycle thefts = 83 (up 8)
Bicycle thefts = 232 (up 19)
Tateno Office
Car thefts = 12 (down 15)
Motorcycle thefts = 14 (up 5)
Bicycle thefts = 40 (up 6)
Yatabe Koban
Car thefts = 28 (up 5)
Motorcycle thefts = 6 (up 2)
Bicycle thefts = 31 (up 3)
Namiki Koban
Car thefts = 9 (down 14)
Motorcycle thefts = 8 (no change)
Bicycle thefts = 42 (down 5)
wow! i wonder where would the thieves bring those stolen cars/bikes/bicycles untraced within Japan.. hmm
well, better safe than sorry. a friend lost his newly bought bicycle last year, in full chain lock. these guys must be carrying bolt cutter all along :) or perhaps a van to load up.
[...] of TsukuBlog readers is a series of motorcycle thefts in the area. As Shaney wrote in her post “Increase in Bike and Motorcycle Theft in Tsukuba,” the bike and motorcycle thefts are on the rise at an alarming rate. Three Namiki residents found [...]