Two employees of a precious metals company were robbed of nearly £580,000 in cash on a street in Tokyo on Saturday, underlining the risks associated with Japanese firms’ obsession with doing business in cash.
The two men, who have not been named but are aged 27 and 29, were transporting a bag containing the cash when they were allegedly attacked shortly before 2 pm by three men on a street in the Roppongi district of the city.
The two men sustained minor injuries but were able to call police, who have launched an investigation and are searching for the three suspects.
The two men were taking the money to a nearby office to purchase precious metals, Kyodo news reported, but their decision to walk through Tokyo with 80 million yen in bank notes has raised eyebrows after a number of similar robberies in recent years.
In July 2016, a car carrying gold bars valued at 750 million yen (£5.43 million) was stopped in the city of Hakata, in southern Japan, by two men dressed as police officers. After threatening the couriers, the robbers loaded the gold into another car and drove away.
Six men were arrested the following year and charged with one of Japan’s largest robberies, although companies that deal in large amounts of cash and precious metals do not appear to have learned their lesson.
In December 2017, three men attacked an employees of a gold trading company on a street in Fukuoka City, in southern Japan, and relieved him of 364 million yen (£2.64 million) in cash that he had just withdrawn from a local bank.
Suspicion for the heists has inevitably fallen on Japan’s notorious “yakuza” underworld groups, which have traditionally avoided robberies as a way of raising funds and instead focused on illegal gambling, the sex industry and protection. A nationwide crackdown on their actions, however, has encouraged some “yakuza” groups to diversify their operations.
Police will also be closely examining anyone who had advance knowledge of Saturday’s transaction as the precision with which the robbery was carried out strongly suggests the thieves were aware that the two employees were carrying a large amount of cash.