Police in Tokyo have arrested a 43-year-old unemployed man on suspicion of theft after he snatched a woman’s shoulder bag containing cash and personal items last month.
Police said Nobuhide Sekimoto, of no fixed address, has admitted to the charge and quoted him as saying he needed money for living expenses and playing pachinko, Sankei Shimbun reported.
According to police, the incident occurred at around 9 a.m. on March 22 along a street in Edogawa Ward. Sekimoto, who was riding a moped, approached the 55-year-old woman pedestrian from behind and grabbed her shoulder bag containing about 35,000 yen in cash.
Police said Sekimoto was identified through an analysis of street surveillance camera footage.
There have been seven other purse-snatching cases targeting women in the same area and police are questioning Sekimoto about his involvement in those cases.
© Japan Today
12 Comments
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Pukey2
Pachinko is not getting a good image.
Random
Should have just kept it to needed living expenses, and left the pachinko part out.
commanteer
With the coming crash in the economy, I expect we will see more people at pachinko and more crime. Gambling is a horrible addiction - it causes poverty and poverty seems to increase the temptation to gamble more.
macv
invasion of the bag snatchers
kyushubill
And they wanna open casinos. What could possibly go wrong?
Lifeinjapan
Pachinko is worse than most other forms of gambling because of it's easy access and how it keeps you in your seat with anticipation, slowly doling out bill after bill of your hard earned cash.
Mocheake
I guess he's never heard the term "gainful employment" before. Well, at least he'll have a fixed address while in the slammer.
3RENSHO
Pachinko is a cancerous scourge afflicting Japanese society. Why does it not exist in my (and your) home countries?
Vince Black
What a pathetic loser. It would best for him to just be locked up.
kurisupisu
If only Nobuhide had waited until this month when he could have been 300000 yen richer-jackpot!
mmwkdw
Moped bag/mobile-phone snatching happened first in the UK. Now it's random stabbings.... I hope the same isn't going to happen here in Japan.
shogun36
Then get a job.
Hospitals need cleaners, Combinis definitely need workers, factories need workers, supermarkets need stockers, it's not that hard, Nobuhide Sekimoto.