Security camera footage shows thieves carrying out bonsai trees from the Aichi-en bonsai garden in Nagoya. (Provided by Aichi-en)

Photo/Illutration Mitsunori Imai shows where bonsai trees disappeared at Warabi-en, his bonsai garden in Kanuma, Tochigi Prefecture. (Atsushi Takahashi)

KANUMA, Tochigi Prefecture--A wave of thefts of bonsai miniature potted trees across Japan appear tied to an overseas boom that offers high profits from resale, according to experts.

In many cases, thieves made off with expensive plants in the dead of night.

Mitsunori Imai, 60, who operates the Warabi-en bonsai garden here, was left speechless after he found many bonsai trees missing from his shelves on the morning of Dec. 12.

“My mind went blank because of the shock,” he said.

The Nippon Bonsai Growers Cooperative had just called on members through the Line messaging app to take precautions following thefts at bonsai gardens around the country.

Security cameras showed two men getting out of a vehicle in the rain, entering Warabi-en and walking out with bonsai trees in their hands.

Imai said 24 pots, worth 7 million yen ($49,000) in total, were snatched.

“The thieves appear to have a certain level of knowledge about bonsai because they selected trees with a decent price,” Imai said.

However, he said the thieves don’t appear to be professionals because more expensive trees remained untouched next to the stolen pots.

At the adjacent Shibuya-en bonsai garden, security cameras showed someone shining a flashlight around the same time from outside the gate to check the garden, but no thefts were reported.

“We display only large pots, and the thieves may have given up, thinking it would be difficult to carry them out,” said Susumu Shinkawa, 46, who operates Shibuya-en.

In the early hours of the same day, at least 23 pots of planted maple and other tree varieties worth 5 million yen in total were stolen from the Aichi-en bonsai garden in Nagoya.

Security cameras captured three people entering the garden and walking out with pots between 1:30 a.m. and 3 a.m.

It was also raining in Nagoya that night.

Junichiro Tanaka, 51, who owns Aichi-en, expressed frustration, saying police told him the rain would wash away the thieves’ footprints.

Before dawn on Dec. 21, 40 pots of pine trees and other plants worth a total of 7 million to 8 million yen were stolen from the Taiju-en bonsai garden in Okazaki, Aichi Prefecture.

“We took precautions such as turning on lights at night, but there are limits to what we can do,” said the garden’s 38-year-old operator. “We want the thieves caught, but right now we just want our trees back.”

Bonsai pilfering has been going on for the past several years.

The Nippon Bonsai Growers Cooperative has hared information on thefts among member growers and called for continued vigilance.

The industry group cited at least 16 cases of theft since February in which numerous pots were stolen. The thefts occurred in Tochigi, Aichi, Nara, Saitama and Ibaraki, among other prefectures.

The cooperative’s secretariat has urged growers not to confront the thieves on grounds it could be dangerous.

There is a growing fan base overseas for bonsai.

Kazuhiro Takebe, 50, president of Bonsai Life, a bonsai garden in Iga, Mie Prefecture, said stolen bonsai are being sold in Asia and elsewhere through social media. 

Thirty pots were stolen from his garden in March.

“We put a lot of effort into each pot over 10 to 20 years,” Takebe said. “Thefts give an even greater shock psychologically than financially.”

Takebe said he hopes police departments across the country will work together because thefts have been reported over wide areas.

“Bonsai trees may have all the conditions for being targeted by thieves because they are placed outdoors, are expensive and compact,” he said.

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