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October 25, 2025
 

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THEFT

Media gathered near the scene where a man barricaded himself with a knife on Wednesday in the city of Hirakata, Osaka Prefecture
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Oct 23, 2025
Man arrested after 14-hour police standoff in Osaka
Toru Suetsugu, 48, allegedly held a woman he was living with at knifepoint after police showed up at his apartment to investigate a theft.
French police officers stand in front of the Louvre museum in Paris on Sunday after a robbery.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Oct 21, 2025
French cops may nab Louvre thieves but they're unlikely to recover the loot
Valuable jewels and gold can be quickly broken down into component parts and sold on.
Members of a forensic team inspect a window believed to have been used in what the French Interior Ministry said was a robbery at the Louvre museum during which jewellery was stolen, in Paris on Sunday.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Oct 20, 2025
Thieves steal French crown jewels from Louvre in daytime raid
The spectacular heist, one of several to target French museums in recent months, forced the closure of the Louvre, the world's most-visited museum and home to the Mona Lisa.
A former MUFG Bank deputy branch manager was sentenced to nine years in prison on Monday for stealing cash and valuables from customers’ safe-deposit boxes.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Oct 6, 2025
Ex-MUFG banker given nine years in prison for safe-deposit box theft
Yukari Yamazaki had been indicted for stealing about ¥390 million worth of property including cash and gold bars.
Investigators believe the man had been repeatedly coerced into drinking by the four suspects, as well as giving them money, leaving him too afraid to resist.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Sep 26, 2025
Four people arrested for getting disabled man drunk and stealing his phone
Some of the suspects told investigators that they committed the act because “it was funny to see him so drunk.”
Prosecutors have sought a 12-year prison sentence for a former MUFG Bank employee charged with stealing cash and gold from customers' safe deposit boxes.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Sep 19, 2025
Prosecutors seek 12-year sentence for former MUFG bank worker over thefts
Authorities said the defendant caused some ¥1.4 billion in financial damage to 70 customers since 2020.
Tokyo police have arrested a 21-year-old security inspector at Haneda Airport after he allegedly stole cash from a passenger during a baggage inspection.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Sep 15, 2025
Haneda Airport security staff arrested over theft
The 21-year-old security inspector allegedly stole cash from a passenger during a baggage inspection.
The Tokyo High Court on Wednesday upheld an indefinite prison sentence for 54-year-old man over a fatal 2023 robbery in Komae, Tokyo.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Sep 11, 2025
Indefinite term upheld for man over Tokyo robbery resulting in death
The case was one of a series of high-profile robberies committed across Japan by a group led by masterminds using the pseudonym "Luffy."
A former MUFG Bank employee said in a court hearing that she committed thefts to make up for losses she had suffered from foreign exchange margin trading and horse-race betting.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Aug 26, 2025
Ex-MUFG Bank employee reveals ¥1.7 billion safe-deposit thefts
A former MUFG Bank employee said during a court hearing on Monday that she stole items worth ¥1.7 billion to ¥1.8 billion, including cash and gold, from around 100 people, in a high-profile safe-deposit theft case.
A pachinko parlor worker and two others were arrested over a case of about ¥28 million in cash being stolen from the safe of the parlor in Aizuwakamatsu, Fukushima Prefecture.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Aug 20, 2025
Pachinko parlor employee arrested for alleged role in robbery
The employee's involvement in the case came to light based on the statements of two others who had already been arrested for the robbery.
Police are looking for the whereabouts of cash taken from a pachinko parlor in Fukushima Prefecture where a robbery took place on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Aug 14, 2025
Two men arrested for ¥28 million robbery at Fukushima pachinko parlor
Police believe that a 19-year-old brandished a fake gun to get the money while a 21-year-old drove the getaway car.
Tomonobu Kojima arrives at Tokyo's Haneda Airport in February 2023 after being deported from the Philippines.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jul 23, 2025
Senior member of 'Luffy' crime ring gets 20 years in prison
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.
The National Police Agency has drafted stricter identification rules for secondhand metal dealers in order to prevent the resale of stolen goods.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 26, 2025
NPA to toughen ID rules for metal dealers amid surge in stolen AC units
The National Police Agency drafted amendments that would require metal dealers to verify sellers’ identities and keep transaction records for three years.
The Japanese Bankers Association said Thursday that it has revised its sample agreement to explicitly prohibit the storage of cash in safe-deposit boxes.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 20, 2025
Japanese banks set to ban storage of cash in safe-deposit boxes
In recent months, incidents came to light in which workers at major lenders allegedly stole client valuables held in such boxes.
Osaka Prefectural Police have arrested two men for allegedly stealing a safe containing roughly ¥100 million ($702,500) from the home of a company president last year.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 27, 2025
Osaka police arrest two men in ¥100 million home burglary
Investigators believe the suspects may have had advance knowledge of both the cash and the location of a spare key inside the home for the safe they stole.
A stolen Kanzeon Bodhisattva statue in Daejeon, central South Korea, in January
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 11, 2025
Stolen Buddha statue handed over to Japan in South Korea
South Korea's Supreme Court recognized the Japanese temple's ownership of the statue in 2023, rejecting claims that it was stolen by Japanese pirates in the 14th century.
Among the proposals by the Financial Services Agency include removing cash and other items that have a high risk of being used for money laundering from a list of items that can be kept in safe deposit boxes.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 28, 2025
Japanese regulators seek stricter rules on safe deposit boxes
The Financial Services Agency is proposing, among others, barring the storage of cash and other items with high risk of being used for money laundering.
According to the Nippon Bonsai Growers Cooperative, there were about 30 cases of bonsai theft last year.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 14, 2025
Bonsai thefts sweep Japan as miniature trees grow more popular
About 30 cases of such theft occurred last year, according to the Nippon Bonsai Growers Cooperative.
The law will require scrap metal dealers to verify the identity of sellers during transactions.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 11, 2025
Japan moves to curb metal theft with new identity check laws
Metal theft has surged in recent years, driven by rising copper prices.
Kanagawa Prefectural Police have arrested a former deputy manager at Hana Credit Union’s Yokohama branch on suspicion of stealing ¥619 million in cash from the branch's safe deposit boxes.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 5, 2025
Hana Credit Union employee arrested on suspicion of safe deposit box theft
The suspect admitted to the allegations, telling police he used the stolen money to pay off debts and gamble.
New ‘immigration minister’ post signals Takaichi Cabinet’s priorities
Kimi Onoda, economic security minister and minister for harmonious coexistence with foreign nationals, arrives at the prime minister's office in Tokyo on Tuesday.
Rare female yakuza walks path to redemption in Japan
Retired yakuza Mako Nishimura sorts fallen leaves during a clean-up activity at the Gifu Gokoku shrine in Gifu Prefecture on Sept. 28.
Takaichi to put defense push in spotlight in bid to satiate Trump demands
Japan's Ground Self-Defense Force personnel march during the joint multinational exercise Garuda Shield 2025 at the Baturaja combat training center in Lampung, Indonesia, last month.
Takaichi focuses on economic and security concerns in first policy speech
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi delivers her first policy speech in the Lower House in Tokyo on Friday.
Driving in Japan isn’t hard. Getting the license is.
The byzantine process for converting a foreign driver’s license into a Japanese one entails mountains of paperwork and significant stamina — unless you're a lucky license holder from a country or region where these requirements are waived.
The newly formed LDP-JIP coalition may not be as solid as it seems
Ruling Liberal Democratic Party President Sanae Takaichi and Japan Innovation Party leader Hirofumi Yoshimura sign a policy agreement between the two parties at the Diet in Tokyo on Monday.
AI-optimized cybercrime increasingly targeting Japan
A recent cyberattack on brewer Asahi Group Holdings resulted in the company suspending shipments.
K-pop idol Chanyeol does J-pop his own way on ‘Hibi’
South Korean singer Chanyeol made his Japanese-language solo debut with the EP “Hibi,” which features six tracks inspired by his love of Japanese music.
In pictures: The day Japan’s glass ceiling finally cracked
Takaichi, surrounded by LDP influencers
London exhibition perhaps sumo's most successful trip abroad
With the recent sumo jaunt to London being essentially a goodwill exercise, <i>rikishi</i> were far more outgoing and relaxed than normal.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

The byzantine process for converting a foreign driver’s license into a Japanese one entails mountains of paperwork and significant stamina — unless you're a lucky license holder from a country or region where these requirements are waived.
Driving in Japan isn’t hard. Getting the license is.
By Thu-Huong Ha and Mike Fu

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