Japanese trading card shop is offering a bounty to anyone who can capture its robber "alive"

The owner of a Gifu, Japan-based trading card shop is asking the public for help finding its alleged robber, but they're cautioning any would-be vigilantes against straight-up killing the perpetrator for the crime.

Spotted by Automaton, the folks behind the Kaitorip Game shop, which sells Pokemon and One Piece trading cards, took to Twitter to reveal footage of what appears to be a single hooded robber breaking into the store and stealing product before fleeing the scene. In the caption, the owners offer a monetary reward for delivering justice to the thief. Per Automaton's translation of the call to action, the store owners specify that a reward of 1 million yen, or about $6100, is up for whoever "captures and brings the robber alive."

If it weren't for that ominous level of detail, this probably wouldn't be a story outside local news. $6100 is a generous enough reward for bringing a burglar to justice, but the suggestion that the Japanese public would be ready and willing to murder someone for robbing a toy store caught the attention of several Twitter users, one of which asked if the bounty would be reduced if the robber is returned damaged, a joking reference to the TCG ecosystem.

"As long as the culprit is breathing," it stays at 1 million yen, the store owner replied.

Thankfully, it seems no one was hurt in this specific case, but the trading card economy in Japan is no joke, involving cards valued at many millions of dollars, which is a big reason crimes like these happen. The Pokemon Company has been aggressive in combatting scalpers, which artificially inflate demand by depleting stock and then reselling at a mark-up, with facial recognition being implemented at some stores in Japan.

Pokemon card resellers are ruining the hobby, but making my own Pokedex got me back in the game