Japan Police Act on 1,322 Juveniles in “Tokuryu” Cases in ’25

Tokyo, Feb. 26 (Jiji Press)–Japanese police took action against 1,322 people aged under 20 last year for crimes linked to “tokuryu” anonymous and transient criminal groups, the National Police Agency said Thursday. Of them, 425 were involved in fraud, 247 in thefts and 200 in drug offenses. Those involved in robberies totaled 116, accounting for about 40 pct of all suspects in tokuryu-linked robbery cases, including adults. “Masterminds (of tokuryu groups) appear to assign juveniles roles that carry a high risk of being caught for their crimes, effectively treating them as disposable,” an NPA official said. This is the first time that the agency has compiled data on juvenile offenses related to tokuryu crimes. As for how juveniles became involved in tokuryu-related crimes, 26.7 pct joined through social media, such as by applying for so-called “dark” part-time jobs. This is lower than the 40.6 pct among adult suspects, suggesting that juveniles are more likely to be drawn into crimes through acquaintances rather than social media. The agency also said police took action against or gave correctional guidance to a record 27 juveniles involved in illegal online casino gambling last year, up ninefold from the previous year. Of them, eight were junior high school students and 13 were high school students. The youngest was a 12-year-old, while there was a case in which a junior high school student swindled about 2.88 million yen to obtain funds for online casino bets. The NPA estimates that about 90,000 people aged 10-19 are using online casino websites. It plans to step up efforts to make it harder for people to access such sites by leveraging a related law that came into effect last year. Additionally, the agency said the number of juveniles police took action against for cannabis possession or use rose 21.7 pct to a record high of 1,373, with those in high schools increasing 52.7 pct to 313. Possession accounted for 80 pct of all cases, and the majority of offenders were boys. In Japan, in addition to possession, which had long been prohibited, the use of cannabis also became illegal starting in December 2024. The NPA plans to raise awareness among young people about the illegality of cannabis possession and use through social media posts. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]