Is Japan a Blue Ocean for Criminals? Experts Sound the Alarm After Luxury Watch Theft at Nakano BroadwayIs Japan a “Blue Ocean” for Criminals? Experts Sound the Alarm After Luxury Watch Theft at Nakano Broadway

The crime took just about 10 seconds

At 9 a.m. on August 29, sitting in the center of the back seat of a car that emerged from the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department’s Nakano Police Station was Mansano Quesada Boris Alexis (33), a Chilean national whose occupation and address are unknown. At one point, Mansano appeared to glare irritably at the camera flashes as though they were dazzling him, but otherwise he stared straight ahead with a sullen expression.

The incident occurred at around 11:50 a.m. on August 25. In broad daylight, luxury watches were stolen from a high-end watch store on the first floor of “Nakano Broadway,” the subculture mecca in Nakano, Tokyo. In recent years, the complex has attracted attention from around the world as a holy ground for luxury watches and had become a tourist destination as well.

“The entire crime reportedly took only about 10 seconds. Two men dressed in dark clothing smashed a display case near the store entrance with hammers and stole three luxury watches by Richard Mille and one by Patek Philippe, worth approximately ¥200 million in total. There were five employees inside the store, but it happened in the blink of an eye.

The employees reportedly chased after them, but one of the men fled on a kick scooter that had been parked outside Broadway, while the other ran away in a different direction.” (National newspaper crime reporter)

The men are believed to have reunited afterward and changed their clothes. A kick scooter allegedly used by the suspects, as well as clothing believed to have been worn by them, was reportedly found near a junior high school close to the scene.

“The police investigation subsequently revealed that at least one of the suspects boarded a train at JR Nakano Station and fled to Osaka later that same day. By the 28th, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police had made speedy arrests in Osaka of Mansano, who had been hiding in the city, and another Chilean national, Piña Guzman Jeremy Paolo (23), on suspicion of theft.” (Same source as above)

At the time of his arrest, Piña was carrying a luxury watch of the same color and model as one of the stolen watches. He reportedly partially denied the allegations, saying, “I only stole one watch. I don’t know anything about the other three.”

Mansano has admitted to the allegations, saying, “I intended to sell the watches and take the money back to my home country.” However, regarding the remaining three watches, he reportedly said, “I dropped them while I was fleeing.”Police are continuing their investigation.

“World-Class Crime” Carried Out by Professionals

Mansano and the other suspect entered Japan through Haneda Airport after taking a flight from Sydney on the 21st, entering on a 90-day short-term stay. It has also been revealed that on the 23rd, they surveyed the luxury watch store that was later targeted. Yasuhira Ogawa, a former Kanagawa Prefectural Police detective and crime journalist, analyzes the incident as a classic hit-and-run style crime that has existed for a long time.

“This incident is clearly different from crimes carried out by so-called ‘dark part-time jobs.’ The people recruited through these illicit job postings are basically amateurs when it comes to crime. In the May 2023 incident in which a luxury watch store in Ginza was attacked, the perpetrators indiscriminately smashed display cases with crowbars and other tools and stole more than 70 watches. The people directing the operation may have conducted surveillance beforehand and told them, ‘Target this display case,’ but the perpetrators themselves aren’t necessarily knowledgeable about luxury watches.

This time, however, they smashed a display case near the entrance and, in just about 10 seconds, precisely targeted extremely expensive watches worth approximately ¥200 million in total. That alone is something people recruited through dark part-time jobs wouldn’t be capable of, suggesting that the perpetrators themselves were not amateurs.

If three of the four stolen watches have still not been recovered from the two suspects who were arrested, it’s possible that they have already been handed over to a third party. If that’s the case, the accomplices may not have been limited to just the two men. It’s possible that someone played a leadership role while others were assigned tasks such as finding the target location. It would be difficult for one person to handle everything on their own.”

Ogawa also warns that this incident is evidence that world-class crime carried out by professionals is now making its way into Japan.

“Overseas, there have actually been thefts straight out of a movie, with criminals entering through neighboring buildings or attics to steal works of art, or even digging tunnels from underground. Crimes that must be considered on that same level are now occurring in Japan as well.

If that’s the case, stores will also have to change their security measures. But placing security guards or installing reinforced glass increases operating costs for the stores, and Japanese businesses place great importance on being customer-first and providing hospitality, so they may also be reluctant to adopt measures such as requiring identification when customers enter.

Overseas, however, it is perfectly normal for stores dealing in luxury goods to have stringent security measures in place. Now that criminal methods have reached a global level, Japan’s crime-prevention measures must also evolve accordingly. If we continue to operate under the assumption that ‘Japan is safe,’ we may continue to be targeted by similar crimes in the future.” (Ogawa)

Regarding his impression of the store when he surveyed it beforehand, Mansano reportedly told investigators, “I was captivated by it. Security is strict in Chile, but at the store in Nakano, the luxury watches were behind thin glass and close to the entrance, so I thought they might be easy to steal.”

For overseas criminals, Japan may be a blue ocean—an untapped market with relatively little competition.