Suddenly， a suspicious person opens the back door and asks， “Can I use your toilet？” More than 10 cases have been reported in Hiroshima Prefecture， asking， “Can I exchange some money？” and “Are you alone？” The person may have been scouting out a robber．

Amid a series of residential robberies in the Tokyo metropolitan area, the prefectural police have received at least 10 reports since October of suspicious individuals visiting private homes in Hiroshima Prefecture and asking to use the toilet, among other things. Prefectural police are stepping up their vigilance as they believe there is a possibility that these are “preliminary inspections” to ascertain assets and family structure. According to the prefectural police, there were one to four cases of visits by suspicious people in the Saeki, Higashi, and Asaminami wards of Hiroshima City, as well as in Hatsukaichi and Higashihiroshima cities. They would visit the victims alone or in groups during the day or at night, asking things like, “Can we use your restroom?” or “Can I have some juice?”, and ask about their family composition and the times when they would be away from home. In one case, a pair of men in their 30s visited in a car with license plates from outside the prefecture. In the case of the incidents in the Tokyo metropolitan area, suspicious visits posing as renovation contractors or the like were confirmed in the vicinity of the crime scene beforehand. In October, three junior and senior high school students aged 14 to 18 from the Kanto region were arrested by the Yamaguchi Prefectural Police in Hikari City, Yamaguchi Prefecture, on suspicion of attempted robbery after they had attempted to break into a private home. Police departments in five prefectures in the Chugoku region have stepped up patrols in residential areas and mountainous regions. The Hiroshima Prefectural Police are providing information on their website and crime prevention app about safeguards such as keeping your doors locked, not letting strangers into your home, and not disclosing personal information. They are urging people to call 110 immediately if they suspect anything suspicious. ◼As you relax after breakfast, “May I use your restroom?” A woman in her 80s from Hiroshima City who was visited by a suspicious man in October spoke to the Chugoku Shimbun. The man entered through the back door without permission, and when the woman let him use the toilet, he asked, “Can I have some money?” and “Are you alone?” “It may have been a reconnaissance mission (for a robbery, etc.). I should have refused from the beginning,” the woman regretted. The man entered through the back door around 8:30 a.m. on October 10th. I had finished breakfast and was relaxing in the living room. Suddenly, the kitchen door opened and a man in his 30s with dark hair and a shirt appeared. The man put his black bag on the table and asked, “Can I use your toilet?” Not understanding the situation, the woman told the man where it was, and he returned a few minutes later. He then grabs some coins and says, “Give me some change.” “I don’t have any money.” When I replied, I was asked, “Are you alone?” The man quickly nodded and left through the back door without replying. Read more below
[Chugoku Shimbun]
2024/11/5 (Tue) 7:02.

突然、勝手口開き「トイレ貸して」　不審者訪問、広島県内で10件以上　「両替して」「1人か」の問いかけ、強盗の下見だったのかも（中国新聞デジタル） - Yahoo!ニュース

首都圏で住宅を狙った強盗事件が相次ぐ中、広島県内で「トイレを貸して」などと言って民家を訪ねる不審者情報が10月以降、少なくとも10件以上、県警に寄せられている。県警は資産状況や家族構成を把握する「

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