The Tokyo District Court on Wednesday sentenced a senior member of a Philippines-based Japanese crime ring to 20 years in prison for his involvement in a nationwide robbery scheme.

Tomonobu Kojima, 47, was the first of the four indicted members of the group, whose members went by the nickname "Luffy," to receive a court ruling.

Kojima was indicted on charges of recruiting individuals involved in robbery cases from October 2022 to December 2022, including those in the city of Inagi, Tokyo, the capital's Nakano Ward and the city of Iwakuni in Yamaguchi Prefecture. He also allegedly swindled a total of about ¥54 million in 2019.

During his trial, Kojima admitted to the charges, and public prosecutors sought a 23-year sentence.

The prosecutors argued that Kojima recruited perpetrators through X, formerly Twitter, and agencies for illegal part-time jobs, and concluded that he played a significant role in executing robberies.

They also claimed that Kojima served as second-in-command and safekeeper in special fraud cases, helping to maintain and expand the group's activities under leader Yuki Watanabe, 41.

Meanwhile, the defense noted that Kojima's roles as second-in-command and safekeeper were exaggerated and that he was not privy to the details of robbery plans, and suggested that an 11-year sentence would be appropriate.

The other three of the four indicted members, including Watanabe, have been charged with robbery resulting in death over a high-profile case in the Tokyo city of Komae. The dates for their first court hearings have yet to be decided.