Ex-employee of Japan bank sentenced to 18 years in home robbery case

TOKYO – A former Nomura Holdings employee who was accused of arson, attempted murder and robbing an elderly client was sentenced to 18 years in prison by a Japan court, local broadcaster TBS reported.

The district court in Hiroshima handed down the punishment against Yusei Kajiwara for the 2024 incident at the client’s home in the western Japan city. It was not immediately clear what he was convicted of. 

Prosecutors had requested a jail term of 20 years, saying Kajiwara rendered a victim unconscious with a sleep-inducing drug, stole cash and set a fire in an attempt to kill the person, according to local media reports.

Kajiwara, 30, admitted to the theft, but denied any murderous intent. 

The incident attracted widespread attention in Japan, where house calls by financial workers have long been a routine part of doing business. Nomura chief executive Kentaro Okuda and other executives took pay cuts and issued public apologies, and the brokerage tightened rules on employee visits to clients’ homes.

“We sincerely apologise to the customers affected and to all others concerned for the significant inconvenience and distress this has caused,” said a Nomura spokesman, while declining to comment on the judgment.

“As a financial institution entrusted with our clients’ valuable assets, we take this matter extremely seriously and firmly recognise that such an incident must never happen again.”

The defendant’s lawyer did not respond to a request for comment. 

Despite the incident, Nomura has seen a surge in business at its wealth management division as Japanese households invest more of their savings to protect wealth against inflation. The operation has been a stronghold for Japan’s biggest securities firm, generating roughly a quarter of its revenue. Bloomberg