Security items up after home robberies in Japan

TOKYO Jiji Press - Sales of security items have been up following a string of home robberies across Japan, including one in which a resident was killed.

Sales of some goods grew more than 20 fold year on year at a hardware store. An official at the store expressed surprise at the sudden popularity of these items, saying they hadn't even had inquiries about them before. After a robbery in the city of Komae, Tokyo on January 19, sales of security items were nearly quadrupled, at the Koto Fukagawa outlet of Kohnan Shoji Co. s hardware store chain in Tokyo's Koto Ward.

Window films and auxiliary locks, both of which make break-ins difficult through windows, are selling well, a store official said. The elderly are the largest number of customers who purchased these items, the official said.

The security products offered at a dedicated space the store established after the Komae incident sold out in two to three days, the official said.

In January, Hands Inc. saw sales of security items double year on year.

The Hands official said that products that require no installation work by technicians and can be attached easily are popular, which grew some 27 fold for window films and about six-fold for sensor alarms.

The number of inquiries about its home security systems has gone up three to four times as a result of the number of inquiries at Sohgo Security Services Co., better known as ALSOK.