Senior ‘Luffy’ crime group member gets life sentence over Japan robberies
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A crime group in Japan had used monikers such as “Luffy” after a popular manga character.
PHOTO: REUTERS
TOKYO – A Japanese court sentenced on Feb 16 a senior member of a crime ring that orchestrated robberies across Japan from the Philippines to life in prison as prosecutors demanded.
Toshiya Fujita, 41, was convicted by the Tokyo District Court of charges that include robbery resulting in death, becoming the second of the group’s four ringleaders to be found guilty.
Members of the group used monikers such as “Luffy” after a popular manga character.
According to the ruling, Fujita conspired with Kiyoto Imamura and Yuki Watanabe, both senior figures in the group and aged 41, to remotely carry out a robbery by dispatching men to a house in Komae, Tokyo, in January 2023.
The court said Fujita played a “crucial role” in the crime.
A 90-year-old woman was robbed of valuable items, including watches, and died from traumatic shock resulting from the incident in which the intruders entered the house disguised as parcel deliverers.
In July 2025, Tomonobu Kojima, a 48-year-old senior member of the crime ring, was sentenced to 20 years in prison for helping plan robberies and introducing Fujita to people recruited to carry them out. Kojima has appealed the ruling. KYODO NEWS
