Osaka police arrest two men in ¥100 million home burglary
Two men have been arrested on suspicion of stealing a safe containing roughly ¥100 million ($702,500) from a company president's home in Osaka Prefecture last year, in a case authorities believe may be linked to yami baito, or shady part-time jobs, according to media reports.
Jo Ochiai, 23, and Takeshi Tamura, 34 — both unemployed and without fixed addresses — were detained on theft and related charges, NHK and other media reported Monday, quoting the Osaka Prefectural Police.
The burglary took place in late August last year at the home of a woman in the city of Sayama, Osaka Prefecture. According to reports, the woman left her residence for about an hour to have lunch, locking only an inner door for ventilation while leaving the outer door unlocked. When she returned, the inner door's lock had been tampered with and a safe was missing.
The stolen safe reportedly contained about ¥100 million in cash and six commemorative coins. Investigators believe the suspects may have had advance knowledge of both the cash and the location of a spare key inside the home, MBS News reported.
Roughly a month after the burglary, Ochiai was arrested in the city of Osaka for a separate hit-and-run incident. During that arrest, officers discovered approximately ¥21 million in cash in his vehicle — with ¥1 million and ¥10 million bundles wrapped in paper bands — believed to be proceeds from the burglary, the report said.
Police later identified Tamura as the second suspect through a review of surveillance footage from the vicinity of the Sayama crime scene. Investigators used a relay-style analysis of multiple security cameras to track the suspects' vehicle and movements.
Tamura, who was out on bail for a separate theft case at the time, was arrested and charged with violating the code of criminal procedure for failing to return to his court-ordered residence.
According to MBS, both men have past indictments for theft involving different accomplices, strengthening police suspicions that they were recruited through a yami baito opportunity. Authorities say such schemes are increasingly associated with decentralized criminal structures known as tokuryū, or 'anonymous and fluid' criminal groups that recruit accomplices on an ad hoc basis through illicit online job postings.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Japan Times
an hour ago
- Japan Times
Mother of North Korean abductee urges government to have sense of mission over issue
Sakie Yokota, the mother of a child abducted by North Korea, called on the Japanese government to tackle the abduction issue with a sense of mission, as Thursday marked five years since the death of her husband, Shigeru. Speaking to reporters Tuesday in the city of Kawasaki in Kanagawa Prefecture, Sakie, 89, said she feels "great loneliness" after the death of her husband, whom she described as a "serious person." Following the abduction of their daughter Megumi in the city of Niigata in 1977 when she was 13, Shigeru launched a group of abductees' families in 1997, serving as its first leader and working hard with Sakie to give lectures and collect signatures to call for an early resolution. But Shigeru died in 2020 at the age of 87 without being able to see his daughter again. Sakie said she could discuss anything with Shigeru, saying she now tells his portrait in the living room of her home that the situation of the abductees remains unknown. This year marks 48 years since Megumi's abduction, and Sakie has become the only living parent of an abductee. "It's so hard that I won't want to give birth and raise a child even if I am reborn," the mother said. "I hope (the Japanese government) will have a sense of mission that they have to bring (the abductees) back seriously," Sakie said. She called for holding a summit meeting between the Japanese and North Korean leaders at an early date, saying, "I hope top officials look each other in the eye and discuss." On Thursday, posters for a charity concert calling for Megumi's return to Japan were put up in buses operating in Niigata. The posters were made by Megumi's former elementary and junior high school classmates. According to Masaki Ikeda, 61 and head of the group of former classmates, a total of 50 posters will be on display in buses operated by Niigata Kotsu until the date of the concert, Oct. 4. The posters show a photograph of Megumi standing in front of a cherry tree and a picture of her and her parents hugging each other. "In order to make progress for her return to Japan, we will bring the thoughts of various people together and make a big wave of support to the government," Ikeda said.
NHK
an hour ago
- NHK
Lifting the lid on cybercrime in Japan
The spread of digital services has been mirrored by a steep rise in cybercrime ... and investors in Japan are being targeted. We shine a light on how the criminals operate.
NHK
an hour ago
- NHK
Many missing dementia patients in Japan who died found in river areas
The largest number of people with dementia or suspected dementia who were discovered dead after going missing in Japan were found in river areas. The National Police Agency said in 2024 police nationwide received 18,121 reports of people with dementia or suspected dementia going missing after wandering away. The figure was 918 less than the previous year. Of the people reported missing nationwide, 16,877 -- or 93 percent -- were later confirmed to be alive, while 491 were found dead. An NPA analysis of the locations where the deceased were found shows that 382 people -- or more than 77 percent -- died within 5 kilometers of where they went missing. Among the 491 dead, the largest number of bodies -- 115 -- were found in locations such as rivers and dry riverbeds. A total of 79 were discovered in irrigation canals and gutters, while 71 were found in mountains and forests. It is believed that causes of death included drowning as well as slipping and falling. Osaka Prefecture in western Japan recorded the largest number of missing people at 2,086. That was followed by the eastern Japan prefectures of Kanagawa with 1,907 and Saitama with 1,812. Aichi Prefecture in central Japan recorded 1,476 while Hyogo Prefecture in western Japan followed with 1,454. There were 111 cases in which missing people were reportedly located with the help of GPS devices attached to items such as clothing and shoes. The NPA is therefore urging police throughout the country to find missing people as quickly as possible by using technology such as GPS and drones.
