SHIROI, Chiba Prefecture--A woman gets a haircut here and then reports doing so to the local authorities, as all women must, along with the reason for altering her appearance. Her reason better be ...

Early on Oct. 16, robbers broke into a home in Shiroi, Chiba Prefecture, assaulted a woman in her 70s and her daughter in her 40s, and stole about 200,000 yen ($1,300), police said.