Not Your Typical Tokuryu Heist? Authorities Arrest Key Figure in Major Theft

Four accomplices have already been arrested

In the case in which ¥12 million in cash was stolen from the home of a male trader in his 50s, the Metropolitan Police Department’s Third Investigation Division arrested three men believed to have acted as the masterminds by December 9.

Those arrested include Takuro Niihara (45), unemployed and with no fixed address; Mitsuo Matsushita (67) of Kagoshima City, occupation unknown; and Chiba Aimiya (34), an esthetic salon employee. Niihara and Matsushita are suspected of being the masterminds, while Chiba is believed to have been in charge of collecting the stolen cash.

“The incident occurred around 5 p.m. on April 2 in Toshima Ward, Tokyo. Someone broke into the second-floor window using a ladder and stole ¥12 million in cash from the victim’s home. The money had been kept in multiple envelopes and packages, received from various people the day before, while the victim was away.

In this case, four others, including the direct perpetrators and a recruiter, had already been arrested and indicted. Subsequent investigations revealed Niihara and the others’ involvement. Niihara and Matsushita allegedly recruited three men in their 20s to 60s through a recruiter to steal the cash, while Chiba collected it and handed it over to Niihara and the others.

It appears that Niihara and the others knew in advance that there was a large sum of cash at the victim’s home. All seven individuals involved in this case, including the direct perpetrators, are from Kagoshima City, and the police are investigating possible connections,” said a journalist from a national newspaper’s social affairs department.

During questioning, Niihara and Chiba denied the allegations, while Matsushita remained silent.

This case involved direct perpetrators, a recruiter, and a money collector, all allegedly directed by Niihara and the others. At first glance, it might appear to be a typical “Tokuryu-style crime,” a term often used for dark-part-time job robberies reported frequently in the media. However, according to journalist Yukio Ishihara, who specializes in Tokuryu-style crimes, “If the perpetrators are not members of organized crime, it technically qualifies as Tokuryu, but this case feels different from the usual Tokuryu-style crimes. It’s closer to what the underworld traditionally calls a tataki.”

The underworld targeting the underworld

“Since the 2023 Luffy Group incident, the term ‘tataki’ has generally come to refer to dark-part-time job robberies. This is because they used the word ‘tataki’ when recruiting people for such jobs. However, in recent years within the underworld, it specifically refers to cases in which underworld figures target other underworld figures to steal money.

Targeting underworld figures makes it harder for the victims to go to the police. But there’s another major feature of this type of ‘tataki’: the perpetrators act only after obtaining advance information about when, where, and approximately how much substantial cash will be available. For example, spies might be sent into a scam syndicate’s hideout to gather intel on when the money will be moved before acting,” explained journalist Yukio Ishihara.

According to Ishihara, an example of a case carried out after gathering such information occurred in December 2022, when a male resident on a high floor of a 27-story tower apartment in Shibuya Ward had eight luxury watches stolen, valued at approximately ¥180 million. A 45-year-old unemployed man with no fixed address, who called himself “Wally,” directed five men in their 30s to 60s as the perpetrators and lookouts. By October 2023, all had been arrested on theft-related charges.

Another example occurred in July 2023 in the lounge of a 46-story tower apartment in Naniwa Ward, Osaka. A self-employed man (62 at the time) was conducting a cryptocurrency transaction with a resident when a man entered, sprayed him with tear gas, and stole ¥70 million. Ishihara classifies this as another “tataki” case. Osaka Prefectural Police arrested six people in March 2024, including a 24-year-old unemployed man suspected of directing the crime. The five direct perpetrators had already been arrested the previous year, including the resident involved in the transaction.

“In this recent case, the victim wasn’t necessarily part of the underworld, but it’s highly likely that someone close to the mastermind or the victim obtained information that a large sum of money would be on hand that day and targeted it precisely.

The use of a recruiter to gather people was likely just to supplement manpower or to keep the mastermind from being exposed, serving as a buffer. In that sense, this differs from dark-part-time job robberies or robberies carried out by randomly rounding up people and attacking.

The fact that the Metropolitan Police’s Third Investigation Division, rather than an organized crime unit, is handling the case suggests that there is no large organization behind it. The arrested masterminds are the leaders of a small group committing the theft,” Ishihara added.

Even within crimes where money is stolen, the style and method can vary widely.

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