Since August, Tokyo and nearby prefectures have been hit by a series of robberies.
One couple was slashed with a knife and robbed of cash, and an elderly woman was battered with a hammer, during home invasions.
Authorities say perpetrators of the crimes were recruited through shady social media posts promising them part-time jobs.
On October 1st, four robbers broke into a house in Tokorozawa City, Saitama Prefecture. They threatened a couple in their 80s with a knife and tied them up with tape before fleeing with cash and other items. The couple suffered cuts and other minor injuries.
Three were arrested that day. They are said to have responded to shady ads offering part-time jobs via a highly secure messaging app.
A fourth suspect, who was on a nationwide wanted list, was arrested on Monday. Police say during questioning, he admitted committing the crime. He told investigators he was barely making ends meet. Investigative sources say the suspect said a person he met through a job ad on social media promised him money but then instructed him to commit the robbery. Police believe the suspect was involved in multiple shady part-time jobs.
Pawnshop smash and grab, Tokyo home invasions among incidents
At least seven cases have occurred since August in Tokyo and the prefectures of Saitama, Chiba, and Kanagawa.
Watch video 0:24
This video shows a robbery in Kanagawa Prefecture.
Two men broke into a pawnshop in Kamakura City in September and smashed the glass of a showcase. A male employee tackled one of them, who was arrested at the scene.
That same month, a group of men smashed a first floor window of a house in Tokyo’s Nerima Ward. A man in his 50s and his son, in his 20s, suffered bruises and were robbed of money and goods.
Multiple men also broke into a house in the capital’s Kokubunji City, binding a woman in her 60s with tape. The victim, who lives alone, was also hit with a hammer.
Police say she was sleeping on the second floor, when she heard a noise and went down to the first. She was told that she would be killed if she made a sound. She was also shown a smartphone screen with a message saying, “Give me money.”
Police: Jobseekers blackmailed into committing robberies
Ichikawa Hiroyuki of Saitama Prefectural Police Headquarters explains how crooks use fake job ads to lure recruits.
Ichikawa says recruiters post part-time jobs on social media that they say are “high income, less stressful and have less overtime.” He says they make it appear that the job is as good as a regular one.
Jobseekers who apply are then instructed to install a highly confidential communication app on their smartphones and exchange messages.
They are asked to give their names and addresses, and to send a photo of their driver’s license.
After, they are told they have a job, like driving a car. But when they arrive at a designated site, the story changes. The person in charge suddenly orders them to be involved in crimes such as robbery and fraud.
Even if they are surprised and try to refuse, the person who has been giving them instructions knows their names and addresses, and threatens to harm them and their families if they don’t cooperate.
Ichikawa says that in many cases, people who are arrested get abandoned by the scammers and cannot get any money. He says all they are left with is regret.
How to safeguard your home from robbery
Crime prevention expert Umemoto Masayuki explains how people can protect themselves from becoming victims of home break-ins.
He says it’s important to make criminals feel that getting into your house will be hard.
In the series of break-ins, houses were targeted at night. Umemoto says the keys to creating bad conditions for burglars are “light” and “sound.”
He also says crooks don’t like breaking in to take a long time. He says data shows 70 percent of criminals will stop if it takes 5 minutes to enter a house.
Perpetrators of the recent break-ins entered by smashing windows.
Umemoto says closing shutters and installing alarms are effective at discouraging criminals from trying to break in.
