crime

Australian man arrested over Osaka supermarket robbery

40 Comments

Police in Osaka have arrested a 26-year-old Australian man on suspicion of robbing a supermarket of 740,000 yen in Osaka earlier this month.

According to police, the robbery occurred at around 10:40 p.m. on Feb 4 at the Life Corp Central Square supermarket in Yodogawa Ward, Sankei Shimbun reported. Speaking in Japanese, the suspect threatened a 21-year-old part-time male employee at the first-floor service counter with a knife and demanded money. He fled the store with 740,000 yen in a bag. No one was injured.

The suspect, who lives in Sapporo, has refused to answer any questions until he speaks with a lawyer, police said, adding that he was identified after an analysis of store surveillance camera footage. At the time, he was living in an apartment about two kilometers from the supermarket but after the robbery, he moved to Sapporo.

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40 Comments
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"...refused to answer any questions until he speaks with a lawyer,"

Good luck with that.

25 ( +31 / -6 )

What an idiot. First the robbery then

He thinks a lawyer is going to help?, just make matters worse if they weren’t bad enough already.

19 ( +25 / -6 )

Police in Osaka have arrested a 26-year-old Australian man on suspicion of robbing a supermarket of 740,000 yen in Osaka earlier this month.

Hard times in this pandemic economy all around.

-2 ( +16 / -18 )

He most likely was on the piss and ran out of money and just needed to buy more piss?

17 ( +21 / -4 )

What kind of person robs their own supermarket?

The dude needs serious help.

24 ( +26 / -2 )

What an idiot! He can look forward to a stay in a Japanese prison and then being sent back to Oz with a “Never to return” stamp on his passport.

17 ( +20 / -3 )

Speaking in Japanese, the suspect threatened a 21-year-old part-time male employee at the first-floor service counter with a knife and demanded money. He fled the store with 740,000 yen in a bag.

I am surprised that he thought moving to Sapporo would allow him to get away.

Even if he spoke Japanese it would be difficult to hide his accent and the rest would be easy.

I hope no innocent person was harassed by the police due to the actions of this idiot.

11 ( +18 / -7 )

after the robbery, he moved to Sapporo.

Back to Niseko? Just another Niseko washed-up. This place has attracted all kinds of weirdos from OZ, bogans acting like they own the place and the country. This one we can be sure is banned for life from ever coming back skiing here.

7 ( +18 / -11 )

What was the guy thinking , doesn't reflect all aussies living here and or visiting , shame on him.

10 ( +17 / -7 )

Fool. Get rid of this guy.

5 ( +9 / -4 )

As easy as it is to condemn this guy based on a news article, wouldn't it be most prudent to assume innocence until proven otherwise in a fair trial? I mean, that's the standard we'd expect in our home countries, right?

If he either admits it without being under duress or is proven guilty in a fair trial, throw the book at him.

If not, let him go.

Some comments here from people who I thought would've known better are a bit disappointing. You make the J-cops sound reasonable in comparison.

1 ( +13 / -12 )

An Australian? Well, that's a first.

-8 ( +6 / -14 )

Australians in Japan are good people. Apparently, something went wrong with this bloke’s wiring.

-3 ( +13 / -16 )

"An Australian? Well, that's a first."

" the suspect threatened a 21-year-old part-time male employee at the first-floor service counter with a knife and demanded money."

The Australian was serious wasn't he?:

Assault with a deadly weapon, and robbery, that's big charges in America.

6 ( +10 / -4 )

Innocent until proven ….guilty, right? You

1 ( +9 / -8 )

"robbing a supermarket of 740,000 yen"

Now that's big Yen!

10 ( +13 / -3 )

Try to keep it on the rails, folks. - “Australian” is a nationality, not a race, skin color or ethnic group.

-4 ( +13 / -17 )

tokyobakayaroToday  09:43 am JST

wouldn't it be most prudent to assume innocence until proven otherwise

Give me break. You are defending him because he's aussie and probably white. If the suspect was Iranian or Pakistani you would have suggested the rope.

Whoa, nellie! I'm merely applying what should be a universal standard. Do you always boil everything down to race?

5 ( +13 / -8 )

Actually I am ashamed to admit I presumed GUILTY, from the article. A too quick hip draw assumption. But he hasn’t even been to what ever form of pre trail let alone a full trail is involved. So taking into account the police might just have grabbed a random suspect (not unheard of) it’s demonstratively presumptive to judge him from a few paragraphs of information. Thank you for the more level headed comments, like cold water on my face you shook me out of stupidity.

8 ( +11 / -3 )

"has refused to answer any questions until he speaks with a lawyer"

Esau is scrambling...

3 ( +6 / -3 )

What kind of person robs their own supermarket?

if he was an English teacher, a broke & desperate one

5 ( +10 / -5 )

If he did it…basic rules for robbery:

one. Don’t use violence or cause stress to victims.

two. Get a brain and check for security cameras inside and out.

three. Don’t risk tortuous prison for such a small amount of money

four. Have a proper disguise.

five. Don’t wee in your own garden.

Darwin Award score 0/5

-1 ( +6 / -7 )

No Vegemite for him in a Japanese prison. Won't be able to listen to Men At Work, either. Looks grim.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

I feel sorry for the Australian guy. Living in Japan is getting to be difficult for people who lost their jobs.

-6 ( +1 / -7 )

Living in Japan is getting to be difficult for people who lost their jobs.

So it allows him to rob stores?

You lost your job? Go home! If he's lucky he might end up in same prison with his countryman, Australia rugby league international Blake Ferguson. Australia's finest exports to Japan here.

-6 ( +1 / -7 )

oK, see we’re back again, eh@tokyobakayaro 4pm ? - Even I admit, may have been ‘premature to assume the accused here is the actual robber’ based on the limited details given earlier here this morning and perhaps, he had a emotional or mental issue. The maxim holds Innocent until proven guilty” to which some need to be reminded: “…regardless of race, skin color, nationality, ethnicity, religious beliefs and any other“ agenda for which they may be on a ‘whitech hunt’:

*@tokyobakayaro 4:00pm**: “Go home! If he's lucky he might end up in same prison with his countryman, Australia …”*

-4 ( +0 / -4 )

I feel sorry for the Australian guy. Living in Japan is getting to be difficult for people who lost their jobs.

Even jail in Japan is probably a step up from having to live in Australia.

-2 ( +2 / -4 )

He fled the store with 740,000 yen in a bag.

The bogan basically ruined his life in Japan for a paltry sum. I guess Australia is not sending its best.

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

Oops!?

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

Did he really think he could get away with the robbery saying "give me the money Mate, or bloak. He should have known being a foreigner and looking different he couldn't run too far or hide.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

"being a foreigner and looking different he couldn't run too far or hide."

> > .........

> that helps safety japan

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Desperate times, desperate measures, but a gaijin trying to hide in Japan would take special methods more than just moving to a new venue. Or perhaps he needed the money TO move... Well, at least it wasn't an American given the popularity of armed robbery in the U.S..

snowymountainhell

"Even I admit..." Yeah, imagine it, even you of the perfection...

Just jazzin' you, mate, but too much self regard of one's own competence leaks sometimes...

2 ( +2 / -0 )

He got caught… g’day mate..

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

Without fear he did that, but totally brainless for not checking the security camera? Goodbye Japan forever, with a bad records.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Point taken, @WilliamBjornson 6:02am. This man’s contrition may be something else that separates humans from apes, eh? - Also, refreshing to see your observations were brief and not the usual extraneous, late night dissertation. (Still got in your dig at the Americans though.)

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

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