TOKYO, Feb. 15 (Xinhua) -- Two U.S. Marines based in western Japan are suspected of breaking into restaurants in central Tokyo and stealing cash, a case that was recently referred to prosecutors, local media reported Sunday.
In the case referred to prosecutors on Friday, the two men, aged 26 and 20, allegedly stole a total of 27,000 yen (about 176 U.S. dollars) from cash registers at two restaurants in Tokyo's Kabukicho nightlife district on the morning of Dec. 24, Kyodo News reported, citing Tokyo police.
The police also suspect their involvement in a same-day theft of more than 10 million yen at another Kabukicho restaurant.
Investigators said the two, assigned to the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station in Iwakuni, Yamaguchi Prefecture, may have committed around a dozen thefts in multiple locations across the country since around last fall, the report said.
In a separate case, a U.S. Marine was arrested Sunday in Okinawa Prefecture for allegedly stealing a backpack containing a necklace and other items worth about 780,000 yen, local police said. ■