Luffy Robbery Gang’ Executive Reveals Why Fraud Group Turned Violent
He committed various crimes and went to the Philippines because of debt
Dragons on both arms, stars and the number “8” on his legs. Tattoos peeked out now and then from the sleeves of his green set-up. Sitting across in the visiting room of the Tokyo Detention House, the man spoke with a light, almost casual tone that belied his status as someone awaiting sentencing.
“‘Yami baito’ (black-market side jobs)—that phrase was my invention. I chose a catchy word that young people would easily latch onto. After that, it was our group, including the boss, that spread the fraud of impersonating police officers explosively across Japan.”
The man’s name is Tomonobu Kojima (47), a top executive in the group behind the “Luffy wide-area robbery incidents” that shook Japan between 2022 and 2023.
In 2018, Kojima joined the fraud group led by Yuki Watanabe (41), who was later arrested for his role in the same series of robberies. Kojima first worked as a “kakeko” (caller who deceives victims), before rising within the group as a collector and treasurer.
He also acted as a recruiter, using fake SNS accounts such as “8 (Eight)” for fraud operations and “Shiratori Tatsuhiko” for the robberies, soliciting perpetrators and introducing them to fellow executives like Kiyoto Imamura (41) and Toshiya Fujita (41), who planned the robberies.
His trial, which opened in July at the Tokyo District Court, drew attention as the first public trial of a “Luffy” executive. Kojima was charged with aiding and abetting robbery resulting in injury in three cases, along with fraud and other crimes in ten special fraud cases. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison (appealed on August 4). During the proceedings, Fujita also appeared in court, and the two executives presented sharply opposing arguments. Their testimonies revealed not only their conflicting relationships but also intriguing details connected to the crimes.
The author had already confirmed through sources that Watanabe and Imamura remained silent about the robberies. To uncover the full picture of the case, testimony from the remaining executives, Kojima and Fujita, was essential.
After nearly a year of negotiations, Kojima agreed to an interview under the condition that he would tell everything to one outlet, to one person. The opening exchange above took place in mid-July, during the trial. Since then, there have been eight meetings and nearly 120 letters exchanged.
From Kojima’s mouth came accounts of the fraud group’s operations, the motives and path leading to the robberies, the tangled human relationships among the executives, the bizarre life inside Bicutan Prison, money from crimes being stolen by overseas criminal organizations, and the true relationship with the so-called mastermind “JP Dragon” as reported in the media.
The story he spins is almost surreal, and what is covered in this series is only a fraction of it. Kojima also explained his reasons for agreeing to the interviews.
“I am a fraud.”
“From the very first day after returning to Japan, I have fully cooperated with the investigation out of a sense of regret. I truly believe that the only form of atonement I can offer is to testify to everything. And I wanted to make it clear to the world that ‘I was not part of the Luffy gang.’ I am, after all, just a fraudster.”
He went on, speaking calmly:
“With such a sloppy robbery plan, a life was lost (the Komae case). Along with a deep sense of remorse for the victim, I can’t help but wonder what the other executives were doing. I was once a believer in the ‘Watanabe cult,’ but once I learned of their involvement in robberies, I cut ties. When deportation was decided, the boss (defendant Watanabe) even tried to take his own life.”
This account provides a detailed look—through the eyes of a top executive—at how a special fraud group transformed into a violent robbery gang, a record of a notorious criminal organization.
He was born in Muroran, Hokkaido, on December 10, 1977, to a taxi driver father and a dental hygienist mother, and grew up with an older sister just a year ahead of him. At the age of eight, his parents divorced, and the family landscape changed drastically.
Life with his gambling-addicted father and his father’s common-law wife did not go well, leading him down a path of delinquency. At 13, he was arrested for theft, abandoned by his father, and placed in a children’s welfare facility. It was a harsh environment, rife with corporal punishment from staff and violence among the residents.
Upon arrival, he was slapped 100 times in succession by a staff member. On freezing days, he was forced to sleep in the gymnasium. Brutal acts included “human darts,” where objects were thrown at him as he lay spread-eagled on the floor beneath a bunk bed, and “human dunking,” where his body was slammed into a basketball hoop.
“I’ve never experienced such a terrible environment, not even in prison. I still can’t forget it. But my involvement in crime was not because of that environment. The responsibility is mine alone. I don’t even know if my mother or sister are alive. I cut ties with my father after the last time he came to me begging for money.”
After leaving the facility, he entered a local commercial high school, but dropped out in just half a year. He then worked at a ranch in Hidaka Town and became a stablehand in regional horse racing, but at 17 he caused a traffic accident and was sent to a juvenile detention center.
From the September 5, 2025 issue of “FRIDAY”
Interview and text： Shimei Kurita (Nonfiction writer)
