Police arrested two more men Sunday on suspicion of attempted burglary in connection with a break-in that took place in the city of Mitaka in western Tokyo in late October.
Authorities have not disclosed whether the suspects — Hayato Araki, from Nagoya, and Tsukuru Watanabe, who has no fixed address — have admitted to the charges. Their occupations are unknown.
Investigators believe that Araki, 28, and Watanabe, 24, collaborated with 23-year-old university student Masaki Saen — who has already been arrested — to carry out the crime.
According to police, Araki and Watanabe responded to job listings for “high-paying gigs” and “white-collar jobs” on social media platform X just days before the incident. The two suspects reportedly received instructions via the encrypted messaging app Signal.
Investigators have seized four mobile phones from the suspects and are analyzing the messages to identify the person who issued the orders.
The two suspects are accused of breaking into a residence in the Osawa area of Mitaka around 1 a.m. on Oct. 30 together with Saen at the instruction of a ringleader. After smashing a window to gain entry, they allegedly attempted to strangle a male resident in his 70s while demanding valuables. However, they fled empty-handed after the resident resisted.
Police sources have revealed that Araki claimed he was instructed to “retrieve money from someone who had run off with it.”
It appears that Araki traveled from Nagoya to Tokyo the night before the incident and met Watanabe at a convenience store in Mitaka roughly 30 minutes before the break-in. Police believe the two then met with Saen at a nearby park before breaking into the house.
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