crime

Man arrested for illegal entry confesses to 2-year robbery spree

14 Comments

Police have arrested a 52-year-old man on suspicion of a series of robberies which include one in which he allegedly stole cash and other items from the home of former Air Self-Defense Force Chief of Staff Toshio Tamogami.

The accused was identified as Shingo Takahata, an unemployed man of no fixed abode, police said Saturday. He has been charged with breaking a window and illegally entering Tamogami's apartment on Jan 23 this year, before stealing around 300,000 yen in cash and 40 valuable items including jewelry worth around 3.7 million yen.

Takahata was eventually arrested for breaking and entering on April 28 when he illegally entered an apartment and was subdued by the inhabitants until the police arrived. Takahata was quoted by police as saying: "I needed money to send to my wife and children in Okinawa."

He subsequently confessed to a string of around 100 robberies between July 2009 and April 2011 in Tokyo, Kanagawa, Osaka and throughout Hyogo Prefecture. The total amount Takahata claims to have stolen is around 50 million yen.

© Compiled from news reports

©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.

14 Comments
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The total amount Takahata claims to have stolen is around 50 million yen.

an astonishing claim, if true.

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Not so astonishing when you think about the lack of security in many people's homes here. That and the fact that many naive folks think that keeping cash around the house is safer than putting into a bank.

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...the lack of security in many people's homes here.

No in my Tokyo neighborhood. Nearly all the buildings have metal bars over the ground-floor windows. The detached homes are typically sealed off by high walls, usually made of cinderblock, with controlled access, and with the "Secom" sticker, indicating they're subscribing to round-the-clock security, stuck on the front gate.

Mind you, if people are silly enough to store millions of yen of cash in their house, I guess they need all those precautions.

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“I needed money to send to my wife and children in Okinawa.”

Go find a friggin JOB! WORK like the rest of us putz!

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Yubaru, in japan, the govt has the right to go into your account and take money out for unpaid taxes and such. So banks here arent so safe. Plus its more about convenience.

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“I needed money to send to my wife and children in Okinawa.”

I understand Okinawa is the poorest part of Japan - but that is NO excuse to come and rob mainland Japanese. As others have said, this jerk should have gone and done an honest days work.

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A two year crime spree, and caught by locals...guess he did not use stolen bikes!

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He should have said it was his first caper. I wonder how many fingers they broke before he confessed.

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Thats alot of money for his wife and children

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The amount just does not seem rational, guess he was "questioned" and now claims crimes that were not his. 50 mil and no fixed address ? He might (is) a crook but something is wrong. In other countries it's called bricking-ad on charges. He was caught red handed but still....50mil?

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Yubaru, in japan, the govt has the right to go into your account and take money out for unpaid taxes and such. So banks here arent so safe. Plus its more about convenience.

So? Pay your taxes and you got nothing to worry about. The bank is still a heck of a lot safer than someone's home. Oh and what is the "and such" comment about? Governments around the world can stop you from accessing your funds if you fail to pay taxes btw, why think that Japan is unique? Another thing, if someone hasn't paid their back taxes they can ALWAYS talk to the tax folks at their local office and work out a payment plan too. I know, been there, done that.

No in my Tokyo neighborhood.

Maybe you haven't noticed but Japan isn't just Tokyo. And those security services started up because of all the thievery going on in this country. People should know better. But they obviously don't.

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He subsequently confessed to a string of around 100 robberies between July 2009 and April 2011 in Tokyo, Kanagawa, Osaka and throughout Hyogo Prefecture. The total amount Takahata claims to have stolen is around 50 million yen.

I think it's amazing how someone gets arrested for one crime, then confesses to loads more.

It smells more like that the police are forcing him to confess to crimes they have been too incompetent to solve.

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It smells more like that the police are forcing him to confess to crimes they have been too incompetent to solve.

Easy way to close the books on a long list of unsolved crimes.

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wow, arrested for a string of BNEs and then confessed to over 100?!? would like to see the interrogation video records for this one.

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