The headteacher at the Gosho Kodomo-en kindergarten in Koga called the police after 15 shoes belonging to 10 children went missing, leaving staff and police puzzled that singular shoes were disappearing rather than pairs.
Police installed three security cameras to catch footage of the mysterious shoe swindler, according to the Mainichi Shimbun newspaper.
When sifting through the footage, they were surprised to find the culprit was a weasel that had snuck up to the cubbyholes where the children had stored the shoes and quickly escaped with one in its mouth.
The shoes haven't been recovered, but for now, staff are trying to dissuade any more criminal critters by placing nets over the children's cubbyholes.
