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Japan Today
23-07-2025
- Japan Today
Senior 'Luffy' crime group member gets 20 years over robberies
A Tokyo court on Wednesday sentenced a senior figure in a crime ring that orchestrated robberies across Japan from the Philippines to 20 years in prison, marking the first conviction of a leading member. Tomonobu Kojima, 47, was convicted of assisting in a robbery and other crimes remotely directed by the group, whose members used monikers such as "Luffy," the name of a popular manga character, and recruited perpetrators via social media. The trial at the Tokyo District Court focused on Kojima's role in the group. Although he admitted to the charges at the first hearing in early July, he said his role was merely that of a "handyman." Presiding Judge Masamichi Itatsu ruled that Kojima had a very important role in enabling the crimes, citing that he introduced applicants for lucrative but shady "part-time jobs" multiple times to other senior members, including Yuki Watanabe, 41, at their request to recruit people to carry out the robberies. Itatsu said strict punishment was necessary due to his involvement in "a new type of crime" that not only endangers public safety but also kept producing many perpetrators by discarding them after use. Prosecutors had sought a 23-year sentence, while Kojima's defense counsel had sought 11 years on the basis that his involvement was limited. According to the ruling, Kojima introduced people recruited to carry out robberies to Toshiya Fujita, 41, another senior group member, in cases between October and December of 2022. Kojima in 2019 also conspired with Kiyoto Imamura, 41, who is believed to have used the "Luffy" pseudonym, to pose as a Financial Services Agency official to steal bank cards to illicitly withdraw a total of 15 million yen ($102,000), as well as stealing some 38 million yen in cash, the ruling said. The three other senior group members have been indicted for allegedly giving instructions to their subordinates in eight main robbery cases. Trial dates for the three have yet to be decided. The crime ring is suspected of being involved in more than 50 cases of robbery, theft and other crimes across 14 prefectures. The robberies shocked Japan, where violent crime is rare. All four men were deported from the Philippines in February 2023. They are suspected of issuing instructions for the eight robberies on the encrypted messaging app Telegram while being held at a Manila immigration facility before their deportation. © KYODO
Japan Today
15-07-2025
- Japan Today
23 years sought for 'Luffy' crime group member over aiding robberies
Prosecutors on Tuesday asked a Tokyo court to sentence a senior member of a crime ring to 23 years in prison for allegedly helping the group orchestrate robberies in Japan from the Philippines. Tomonobu Kojima, 47, is accused of assisting robberies resulting in injury and other crimes directed remotely by the group, whose members used monikers such as "Luffy," after the name of a popular manga character, and recruited individuals through social media to carry out the crimes. Kojima played a "key role" in the robberies, a prosecutor said at the Tokyo District Court. His defense counsel called for 11 years in prison, saying his involvement in the group's crimes was limited. The court is scheduled to hand down a ruling on July 23. In his first hearing earlier this month, Kojima admitted to the charges but denied being a senior member, describing himself as a "handyman" instead. The defendant is among four senior members indicted for allegedly giving instructions to their subordinates in eight main robbery cases. The crime ring is suspected of being involved in more than 50 cases of robbery, theft and other crimes across 14 prefectures. According to the indictment, Kojima introduced people who were recruited to carry out robberies to Toshiya Fujita, 41, another senior member of the group, in cases between October and December of 2022. Kojima is also accused of conspiring with Kiyoto Imamura, 41, who is believed to have used the pseudonym "Luffy" personally, to pose as a Financial Services Agency official in 2019 to steal cash cards and withdraw money, the indictment said. The fourth senior member, Yuki Watanabe, 41, has also been indicted along with Imamura and Fujita for a robbery in the Tokyo suburbs in January 2023 that resulted in the murder of a 90-year-old woman. All four men were deported from the Philippines in February 2023. They are suspected of issuing instructions for the eight robberies on the encrypted messaging app Telegram while being held at a Manila immigration facility before their deportation. © KYODO
The Mainichi
15-07-2025
- The Mainichi
23 years sought for 'Luffy' crime group member over aiding robberies in Japan
TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Prosecutors on Tuesday asked a Tokyo court to sentence a senior member of a crime ring to 23 years in prison for allegedly helping the group orchestrate robberies in Japan from the Philippines. Tomonobu Kojima, 47, is accused of assisting robberies resulting in injury and other crimes directed remotely by the group, whose members used monikers such as "Luffy," after the name of a popular manga character, and recruited individuals through social media to carry out the crimes. Kojima played a "key role" in the robberies, a prosecutor said at the Tokyo District Court. His defense counsel called for 11 years in prison, saying his involvement in the group's crimes was limited. The court is scheduled to hand down a ruling on July 23. In his first hearing earlier this month, Kojima admitted to the charges but denied being a senior member, describing himself as a "handyman" instead. The defendant is among four senior members indicted for allegedly giving instructions to their subordinates in eight main robbery cases. The crime ring is suspected of being involved in more than 50 cases of robbery, theft and other crimes across 14 prefectures. According to the indictment, Kojima introduced people who were recruited to carry out robberies to Toshiya Fujita, 41, another senior member of the group, in cases between October and December of 2022. Kojima is also accused of conspiring with Kiyoto Imamura, 41, who is believed to have used the pseudonym "Luffy" personally, to pose as a Financial Services Agency official in 2019 to steal cash cards and withdraw money, the indictment said. The fourth senior member, Yuki Watanabe, 41, has also been indicted along with Imamura and Fujita for a robbery in the Tokyo suburbs in January 2023 that resulted in the death of a 90-year-old woman. All four men were deported from the Philippines in February 2023. They are suspected of issuing instructions for the eight robberies on the encrypted messaging app Telegram while being held at a Manila immigration facility before their deportation.
15-07-2025
- Business
Japan to Oblige Brokerages to Enhance Account Security
News from Japan Economy Jul 15, 2025 17:22 (JST) Tokyo, July 15 (Jiji Press)--Japan's Financial Services Agency will revise its supervision guidelines to oblige brokerage firms to enhance the security of their customers' accounts, according to its revision plan released on Tuesday. The revision comes after a series of account hacking cases. The revision plan will be formally adopted after a public comment period. The revised guidelines will focus on preventing phishing, which leads customers to fake websites. Brokerage firms will be urged to introduce multi-factor authentication, which requires account holders to use not only their account name and password but also biometric identification, such as fingerprint or face recognition, when they log in to their accounts. If brokerage firms do not introduce such stricter authentication immediately, they will be required to notify their customers of their introduction schedules. The revised guidelines will also oblige brokerage firms to promptly notify users of account hacking and freeze accounts in the event of repeated authentication failures. [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.] Jiji Press
Yomiuri Shimbun
14-07-2025
- Business
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Misconduct by Iwaki Shinkumi: Improper Practices Are Serious, Unacceptable for Financial Institution
Serious misconduct carried out by a financial institution that plays a key role in a regional economy is unacceptable. Iwaki Shinkumi, a credit cooperative based in Iwaki, Fukushima Prefecture, and the Financial Services Agency must urgently clarify the whole picture of the wrongdoing and implement measures to prevent the recurrence of similar cases. According to a report released in late May by its third-party committee, Iwaki Shinkumi repeatedly conducted improper lending to major clients, whose financial condition had deteriorated, and concealed the practice for about 20 years starting in 2004. The credit cooperative created shell companies and engaged in backdoor lending. It also opened fake accounts by using the names of general depositors without their consent. Iwaki Shinkumi's loan balance stands at about ¥120 billion, and there were 1,293 cases of loan irregularities involving a total of ¥24.7 billion. The lender's lack of awareness regarding compliance with laws and regulations is utterly astonishing. Credibility is the most crucial factor for financial institutions, which have a high public profile. Nevertheless, successive executives and other officials at Iwaki Shinkumi continued to systematically cover up the misconduct. The influence of a former chairman, who was at the helm for 20 years until his resignation in November last year, was enormous. His power strengthened a corporate culture in which employees could not speak out. It is evident that this situation created a breeding ground for fraud and resulted in serious governance failures at the credit cooperative. After the Great East Japan Earthquake, the government injected ¥17.5 billion in public funds into Iwaki Shinkumi in January 2012 to support the economy of disaster-hit areas. The public funding reinforced Iwaki Shinkumi's business strength, so the credit cooperative dealt with some of its fraudulent loans as losses. Such an act completely lacks any sense of ethics. In an investigation conducted by the third-party committee that was set up in November last year under the previous management team, Iwaki Shinkumi was reportedly uncooperative. It told the committee that it had destroyed a related computer and failed to submit necessary documents, among other actions. Given that situation, the current leadership, who took up their positions last month after a management reshuffle, deemed that an additional investigation was necessary and set up a special investigation panel consisting of lawyers and other experts. About ¥850 million to ¥1 billion in loans extended by the credit cooperative remains unaccounted for. The current management team is reportedly considering seeking damages from their predecessors and filing a criminal complaint against them. Although the moves come too late, the financial institution's misconduct should be elucidated thoroughly from both a civil and criminal perspective. There are about 140 credit cooperatives nationwide, and deposits and lending are limited to their members, in principle. The deposit balance of credit cooperatives nationwide totals about ¥24 trillion, and their lending amounts to about ¥14 trillion. Credit cooperatives are nonprofit entities in which members support one another. This means they are the financial institutions that are closest to local communities. Nevertheless, the Financial Services Agency failed to detect Iwaki Shinkumi's misconduct for many years, so it bears a grave responsibility. Because public funds were injected into the credit cooperative, the FSA was supposed to have monitored the cooperative's management strictly. So, what brought about this situation? The supervisory systems of all the credit cooperatives also need to be checked thoroughly. (From The Yomiuri Shimbun, July 13, 2025)
