Stealing Steel

January and February saw more than 400 million yen in metal stolen in at least 1,756 incidences nationwide, a surge that coincides with soaring prices and demand in China, especially for copper, and following the heels of last year's spike, according to a Kyodo News study.

The metal products stolen range from electrical wires to a stainless steel slide in a park to bells, aluminum fences, drain covers and even steel plates on tombs for holding incense. Such metal can be reprocessed for use in construction. China, where a building boom continues ahead of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, has a voracious appetite for metal.