OSAKA/TOKYO -- As bicycles gain popularity as an alternative to Japan's crowded trains and buses amid the coronavirus, thieves are homing in on electric bike batteries as a quick way to make some extra cash.
"Stealing batteries from electric bikes is easy, and I got caught up in it," a 49-year-old man told Osaka police after he was arrested in August for stealing a battery from a bike stand in the city of Yao.
