Crime Man arrested after robbery attempt at Tokyo bank

[thomas]

This wouldn't make headlines elsewhere: the Metropolitan Police Department arrested a 57-year-old man yesterday for attempting to rob Mizuho Bank's Kameido branch in Tokyo with a model gun.

I cannot recall hearing of any (attempted) bank robbery in Japan. This guy must have been pretty desperate.

Mizuho Bank in Kameido - photo credit: Kyodo​

Kazuto Inaba, a resident of Tokyo's Edogawa Ward, was arrested red-handed shortly after noon and has already confessed to the crime, citing financial difficulties. There were other customers at the branch but no one was injured. "I was paying off my debts by borrowing money in advance from my salary, but it wasn't working, so I robbed the bank," Inaba was quoted as saying by police. Someone who was present at the branch, located near the JR Kameido Station, called the police after Inaba threatened a male desk clerk in his 60s with a gun-like object, telling him to "get me ¥500 million."

Half a billion yen in debt? Gambling?

Man arrested after robbery attempt at Mizuho Tokyo bank branch

The 57-year-old suspect threatened a desk clerk with a gun-like object, and demanded ¥500 million from him.

www.japantimes.co.jp

 

[Petaris]

Half a billion yen in debt? Gambling?

I mean, if your going to rob a bank you may as well go big.

 

[Mikawa Ossan]

If he was in such financial trouble, do you think maybe he wanted to get caught? Prison is no heaven, but at least he can be sure to have a roof over his head, food, and healthcare.