“Luffy” Crime Ring Member Sentenced to Life in Prison

Tokyo, Feb. 16 (Jiji Press)–Tokyo District Court on Monday handed down a life sentence to a senior member of a Japanese crime ring that was led by individuals called “Luffy” in the Philippines and behind a series of high-profile robbery and other crimes across Japan. Of the four arrested and indicted senior members of the crime ring, Toshiya Fujita, 41, was the second to receive a sentence. His sentence was in line with the demands of public prosecutors. According to the ruling, Fujita was involved in a total of seven robbery cases in Tokyo and three other prefectures between October 2022 and January 2023, including one in which a 90-year-old woman was killed in Komae, Tokyo. His lay-judge trial focused on whether he could be considered a co-principal in the cases. On Monday, Presiding Judge Sakon Togari said Fujita “played an essential role for the organization’s profit.” Based on testimonies from those who were under Fujita’s instruction and other evidence, the judge said that Fujita controlled them by assessing their aptitudes. The court dismissed the defendant’s claim that he did not give instructions to assault the victim in the Komae case with a weapon. The court determined that Fujita was a co-principal as “he carried out his own duties for the common interest of the organization.” Describing the robberies as a new type of organizational crime carried out by remote control, the judge concluded that the crimes had created significant anxiety in society. Of the other three indicted members, Tomonobu Kojima, 48, received a 20-year prison sentence and appealed it to the Supreme Court. Trials have yet to begin for Yuki Watanabe and Kiyoto Imamura, both 41. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]