900 luxury watches ‘go missing’ in Japan

Nearly 900 luxury watches, valued at almost $13 million, have gone missing in Japan following the closure of a rental site and the subsequent flight of its owner to Dubai, local media reported. The watches, including Rolexes and other high-end timepieces, were rented out by owners to Osaka-based Toke Match, which then leased them to customers. Despite assurances from the company, which operated under the name Neo Reverse, that all watches would be returned, approximately 900 watches worth 1.9 billion yen ($12.6 million) have yet to be reunited with their owners. Some of the missing watches have been spotted on online auction sites, prompting complaints to police across Japan. Tokyo police have issued an arrest warrant for Toke Match’s owner, Takazumi Kominato, on suspicion of embezzlement, but he fled to Dubai in late February. The incident highlights challenges in the growing “sharing economy” market in Japan, which reached 2.6 trillion yen ($17 billion) in the last fiscal year.