A 68-year-old woman and her 45-year-old daughter have been arrested on suspicion of stealing 24 AKB48 photo cards from a convenience store in Gero, Gifu Prefecture, police said. The two admitted the allegation during questioning.
The suspects are Takako Takahashi, 68, unemployed and from Kani in the same prefecture, and her daughter Sachie, 45. Police suspect they took the cards, with a combined retail value of about ¥9,800, from the store last month.
The cards were a bonus given to customers who bought certain products, and were displayed alongside the goods. AKB48 is a long-running all-female idol group whose merchandise is widely traded and resold.
Four similar thefts in the city
Gero has seen four other thefts of photo cards in the same manner, police said. Officers also seized a number of other photo cards and clear files, believed to have been stolen, from the pair's home, and are investigating whether the cases are connected.