The suspects made off with the melons in the middle of the night June 18 and were arrested soon afterwards, officers from the Asahi police station of Chiba Prefectural Police said June 20.
One of the suspects, who lives in Yotsukaido, Chiba Prefecture, denied involvement in the theft, but the others admitted to stealing the fruit, which they said they had intended to eat.
Police said the men raided the farm around 2:30 a.m. on June 19 and targeted a brand of melon called Iioka Takami melon, a specialty produce of Asahi city.
The value of the haul was given at 67,000 yen ($640).
According to a representative of the Iioka Melon Department of JA (Japan Agricultural Cooperatives) Chibamidori, Takami melons are usually harvested between the end of June and the beginning of July, and the stolen melons must have been too green to eat.
