Bonsai burglars: Japan sees surge in tiny tree thefts, prompting ‘angry’ growers to boost security

Nurseries and the police suspect the thieves are stealing to order for unscrupulous collectors in China, Vietnam and elsewhere in Southeast Asia

The latest in a string of break-ins saw a group of masked burglars steal 33 trees worth millions of yen from a nursery in Kumamoto prefecture

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Bonsai trees in Gashou-en, a nursery in southern Japan’s Kumamoto prefecture that was raided by thieves earlier this month. Photo: Instagram/Gashou-en

Published: 12:00pm, 21 May 2024Updated: 3:55pm, 21 May 2024

Bonsai nurseries and collectors across Japan are investing in new defences amid a resurgence in thefts of their most prized specimens, some of which have taken decades to cultivate and are worth millions of yen.

Organised criminal groups from overseas are believed to be behind the thefts, stealing bonsai to order and smuggling them out of the country to be sold to unscrupulous collectors.

Around a dozen thefts were reported in 2019, followed by 20 more incidents in just three months at the turn of the year. The most recent raid this month targeted Gashou-en, a nursery in Kumamoto prefecture in southern Japan that has been raising award-winning bonsai for nearly 50 years.

“They came early in the morning of May 8, at around 1.30,” said Yusei Sasaki, who represents the third generation of the Sasaki family to manage the business.

“They took 33 trees, including some that were very valuable,” he told This Week in Asia, estimating that the stolen trees were worth 18.8 million yen (US$120,500). Police have made no progress in tracking down the thieves.

Security camera footage shows a masked thief stealing a bonsai tree from Gashou-en nursery earlier this month. Photo: Instagram/Gashou-en

“I’m really angry, and I’m also really sad,” Sasaki said. “We have worked hard to raise these trees, and it takes a long time for them to be perfect. They are works of art.”