Ringleader Identified: The Pattern Behind Dark Part-Time Job Crimes
The number of "black market job" crimes that occurred one after another last year has been drastically decreasing since January of this year. What exactly was behind it? Nonfiction writer Masahiro Ojima takes a close look at the front lines of the investigation.
Over 50 Arrested in Six Months
Since last summer, a series of robberies committed by young people who applied for dark part-time jobs have occurred primarily in the Tokyo metropolitan area, severely deteriorating the public’s sense of security. These incidents are believed to be carried out by so-called anonymous and fluid crime groups (commonly referred to as Tokuryu). While police authorities have announced their intention to tackle the issue with new methods such as undercover identity investigations, the wave of dark part-time job robberies has suddenly ceased since mid-January of this year. As a temporary sense of relief spreads among the public, law enforcement officials have revealed the reasons behind this halt and the current state of the investigation.
Since August of last year, more than 20 dark part-time job robberies have taken place, mainly in the Tokyo metropolitan area. Groups of young perpetrators would break into homes by smashing window glass with hammers or crowbar-like tools and assault residents without hesitation, resulting in many injuries. Among these incidents, a particularly brutal case occurred in October in Yokohama, where an elderly man was murdered. So far, more than 50 young people who were coerced into committing these robberies by the masterminds have been arrested.
Despite continued incidents in places like Tokorozawa, Saitama, and Yokohama in October, as well as Katsushika, Tokyo, in November, the crime wave persisted. Even as late as December 22, two robberies occurred in Chiba Prefecture. The attacks did not stop at the turn of the new year; on New Year’s Day 2025, a two-person robbery occurred in Kasugai, Aichi Prefecture, followed by a four-person robbery in Hokota, Ibaraki Prefecture, on January 2. What should have been a festive New Year was instead marred by relentless violent crimes.
To combat these incidents, the Metropolitan Police Department, along with the Chiba, Saitama, and Kanagawa prefectural police, established a joint investigation headquarters, leading to the successive arrests of over 50 perpetrators. However, the masterminds and coordinators behind these crimes have yet to be apprehended, raising concerns that further incidents could occur. Strangely, though, since mid-January, no similar cases have been reported for reasons yet unknown.
A senior police official commented on this unusual halt, suggesting that “it is possible that those directing these dark part-time job robberies were arrested in connection with unrelated cases, preventing them from using smartphones to recruit new perpetrators, which in turn has stopped the incidents.
