Lost & Found

“if they find lost property…they must return…the lost property they found.”             Leviticus 6:3-5

Following my usual morning routine, I inserted money into the local vending machine to purchase a can of ice coffee before heading off to work for the day. Later on, I realized to my chagrin that I had neglected to retrieve my ¥900 change, worth almost nine dollars, from the vending machine. When I returned home almost twelve hours later, I checked the vending machine out of curiosity and was pleasantly surprised to discover my money still waiting for me untouched in the coin return. Such stories are actually not unusual in Japan.

Everyday throughout the country, literally thousands of misplaced wallets, cell phones, keys, bikes, umbrellas, bags etc. are turned in by conscientious Japanese at collection points conveniently located in stores, train stations and local police boxes. These lost articles, known as “wasuremono” (忘れ物) or literally “forgotten item,” are dutifully collected, tagged and stored for a period of time with the hope of returning them to their rightful owner. Signs are posted everywhere reminding people not to forget personal items which still inevitably occurs, but fortunately, the Japanese are extremely diligent in returning other people’s property. Amazingly this widespread practice of honesty extends even to lost money, where roughly 75 percent of the cash that is reported as wasuremono is eventually returned to the owner. The Japanese typically keep detailed records of such matters so they know that 26.7 million items were reported to police departments in 2015, highlighting the widespread extent of this practice and also the challenge of practically dealing with it.

Although many are not aware of it, Japan actually has a “Lost Property Law” prompting citizens who find lost items to turn them into the police. Even though they are entitled to a proportional reward from the owner, most people would decline any remuneration if it was offered to them. In cases where the owner is not located within three months, the finder is entitled to keep the lost article as a variation of the more traditional “finders keepers” approach. The question naturally arises as to why Japanese are so diligent in this practice of returning misplaced items when compared to many other cultures. The most likely answer is probably rooted in the moral education commonly taught and practiced in schools and then reinforced in countless ways on the public consciousness.

Many Japanese would consider keeping a lost item to be the moral equivalent of stealing, which aligns closely with scriptural teaching on this topic (Leviticus 6). The concept of “lostness” actually taps into a deep, yet central theological theme pointing to our need for a Savior. In Isaiah 53:6, the whole of mankind is described as sheep that “have gone astray,” wandering away from the purposes and heart of God, their Shepherd. This theme is reiterated in other passages and powerfully illustrated by Jesus Himself through three parables in Luke 15 where He uses the analogy of a lost sheep, a lost coin and a lost son to teach about His Heavenly Father’s passion for restoring what is lost, namely us. In fact, Jesus identifies this as being the very purpose of His coming to Earth when He said “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10). This means that God has by grace enacted His own “Lost Property Law” when He offered His Son on a cross, so that we might be restored to God, our rightful owner. As the famous line of the hymn “Amazing Grace” so aptly phrases it, “I once was lost, but now I’m found.”