In Japan, there are many instances where the students have considerable wealth and choose to show their wealth through means of expensive watches, pens, pencil cases, and laptops. As teachers, one of the most important things to remember is not to steal from the student. However, there are situations where you may end up with the students items. If these situations arise, remember to never acknowledge ownership of said items, and always act as though ownership was never implied. This is a legal loophole in the Japanese justice system, where no crime can be committed if there is no ownership (ie. one cannot steal air)
After being discovered, always offer the item back to the student as a gift. If they accept the gift, it becomes their property and any ill-will disappears. If they decline the gift, you are legally allowed to have it and consider it your property.
One way of obtained student’s items that I’ve witnessed takes place during role-play activities. Tell the student that you wish to roleplay the concept of clarification over the phone, and point your chairs away from each other. This makes conversation more difficult as you are unable to see each other’s faces and body language. With the student facing the other way, their possessions often go missing.