Japan is often touted as one of the safest countries on the planet, with tourists telling tales of receiving lost wallets and purses with money intact. But in the wee hours of Friday morning the country's reputation for low crime took a hit when thieves in the Kansai region made off with 191 iPhone 5's housed at three different Apple handset retailers.

According to the Nikkei and the Wall Street Journal, none of the robberies occurred at any of Apple's official stores. Instead the thieves targeted local cell phone retailers. A Softbank store in Osaka city lost 116 iPhone 5's, which were reportedly stolen at around 4:30 a.m. by three men, according to security camera footage. Local police estimate the value of the stolen merchandise at around 7.5 million yen (about $95,300).

Apple's other cellular partner in the country, KDDI, had two of its stores in the Osaka region targeted. Thieves snagged 42 iPhone 5's from one KDDI shop at around 2:30 a.m., and another one of the company's shops lost 33 devices just before 3 a.m. No suspects have been mentioned, so it likely that the large trove of iPhone 5's will hit the black market in either Japan or another part of Asia.

The highly unusual turn of events within the confines of Japan highlights the huge popularity the device still enjoys nearly five years after its original release. But in New York City, local authorities are taking no chances as thousands of consumers . According to the New York Post, the New York City Police Department will have officers stationed at 21 iPhone 5 retail locations around the city to help inform consumers on ways to guard against theft of their mobile devices. The effort is part of the department's new program called "Operation ID," a system that allows consumers to register mobile devices with the city to aid in the recovery of stolen goods.

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