TOKYO - Patrolling in high heels, wigs and designer bags, Japanese black-belt policemen have been cross-dressing in a bid to beat off bag-snatchers, a report said Wednesday.

The all-male squad has been deployed since last month on night patrols in central Aichi prefecture, wearing skirts and stockings and carrying eye-catching handbags as bait for potential thieves, the Asahi daily reported.

So far the unit has failed to nab any muggers, the Asahi said, and Aichi police declined to comment to AFP on the report.

To qualify for the special squad, police have to be young, slim and hold the top rank of a black belt in a martial art such as karate or judo, the report said.

A 26-year-old officer - measuring 1.71 metres in height and weighing in at a dainty 61 kilograms - expressed pride in the mission, telling the daily: "It's cowardly to target women who are weak."

The operation has not been without its pitfalls. Some of the stylish policemen have become targets themselves ? of cat-calls and lewd propositions.

One 25-year-old officer said he "panicked? one night when a male driver leaned out of his car window and asked if he wanted to go for a drive.