Tokyo ward to fine people up to ¥20,000 for abandoning suitcases

Leaving your suitcase on a Tokyo street could soon cost you real money. Toshima, one of Tokyo's 23 special wards, has announced a proposed bylaw change that bans leaving travel suitcases on public roads.

Anyone who abandons a suitcase around Ikebukuro Station or Otsuka Station could be fined up to ¥20,000, roughly 16,700 won or about 130 US dollars. The rule is due to take effect in April 2027, and fines would start being collected in July 2027.

Why suitcases?

It would be the first time a suitcase has been regulated in this way anywhere in Tokyo, and it is rare across Japan too. Toshima is not writing a new law from scratch. It is amending its existing bylaw, which already bans smoking on the street and dumping rubbish.

Suitcases, plastic straws and disposable wooden chopsticks are being added to the list of items that must not be dumped or left behind.

The ward counted about 290 abandoned suitcases in the 2025 fiscal year. Most were found around Ikebukuro, where hotels and guesthouses are packed together.

What happened earlier?

The plan was first reported on 12 November, when a Japanese local government was said to be bringing in ¥20,000 fines for abandoned suitcases. The details above come from the ward's formal announcement.