Sophisticated Criminals Recruit for Shady Part-time Work in Japan

Unsuspecting young people looking for a quick buck often become both perpetrators and victims of crime. Remember, if it seems too good to be true, it probably is.

Nov 02, 2024

Shady part-time jobs are getting more and more young people in Japan into trouble (image sourced from Photo AC)

What’s new: Japan is known for its low crime rate, where it is safe to walk the streets late at night almost anywhere in the country. Thus, a series of robberies that have been occurring frequently in the Tokyo metropolitan area have shocked the country. Now we are learning that the perpetrators, who were recently arrested, were a group of young men who had never met before and were tricked into doing illegal part-time work after being recruited by members of an organized crime ring. The seemingly innocent young criminals were essentially duped online into doing what was advertised as "part-time office work," "a call center job," "simple delivery tasks," or "working as a part-time taxi driver," in order to disguise the true, nefarious nature of the work as a legitimate job offer. Behind the scenes, the criminal masterminds ask their accomplices to upload a copy of their personal identification and contact information. Victims of this type of scam are tricked into committing real crimes and routinely have their lives threatened if they try to quit.

Why it matters: Sophisticated recruitment techniques are being used via social media to recruit unsuspecting and often young people who end up becoming both perpetrators and victims of crime.

"Rather than the typical low-level delinquent (often called "Yankees" in Japanese) or other obviously villainous characters, recently there has been an increase in cases of seemingly harmless kids getting involved in crime, especially in the case of illegal part-time work." - Head of the Public Safety Division of a Prefectural Police Department

The unsuspecting young victims are instructed by their handlers to commit fraud or robbery, and sometimes they are even involved in murder.

By the numbers: While the overall numbers reported are still low, the trend is worsening.

Since August 2024, the number of people arrested has exceeded 30, and 80% of them were in their teens or 20s.
According to the National Police Agency, of the suspects arrested between January and the end of July 2023, the most common ways of getting hired were "applying through social media" (46.9%), "introduction by acquaintances" (27.5%), and "online ‘help wanted’ sites" (4.9%).
The money is good - especially from a college-age student's perspective. Typically, such part-time jobs pay 50,000~100,000 yen (US$325~650) or more per day.

Sometimes the promise of quick cash for relatively little effort can be too much to ignore for a young person struggling to make ends meet (image sourced from Photo AC)

How it works: Perpetrators often become victims of crime themselves.

Catch Phrases: The word howaito anken (ホワイト案件), which means "white job" in Japanese, is used by criminal groups in recruiting to make potential candidates think that their proposal is not related to a "black employer," which is called burakku kigyo (ブラック企業) in Japanese. In this context, the term burakku for "black" refers to an unscrupulous employer who will exploit his workers. The word howaito anken is, essentially, a euphemism for the term yami baito (闇バイト), which means shady part-time job in Japanese. While the actual employer is part of a criminal enterprise, the choice of words used to describe the job offer is meant to convey legitimacy. Many inexperienced young people fall for this deception.
Cryptic Slang: Organized crime networks recruit using cryptic language such as "UD," a slang term for "recipient" or "sender," and "takaki" (叩き), slang for "robbery." To avoid detection by routine electronic surveillance techniques used by police cyber patrols, such ads deliberately include extra spaces between the characters used in Japanese to write these words. Recently, the public has become aware of the use of such nomenclature and has naturally become more suspicious. Thus, the criminal networks are now trying to deceive people by using alternative words and phrases that stand for something else.
Compromised Legitimate Job Sites: The National Police Agency and the Ministry of Health, Labor & Welfare have confirmed that illegal part-time jobs are being advertised on major job search sites such as Indeed (インディード), Engage (エンゲージ), and Jimoty (ジモティー). These companies are trying to weed out illegal "help wanted" ads posted by criminal networks, but they cannot catch them all.
Communications via Encrypted Social Media: After applying for a job, most applicants are directed to highly confidential chat applications such as Telegram and Signal. They are then asked to provide details such as their current address (e.g., at a dorm or private rented apartment), school name, place of work, family structure and even their parents' home address, and are also asked to take a selfie with their driver's license.

"If someone suggests communicating via Telegram or Signal, you should be suspicious at first. If you upload documents for personal identification at this point, it will be difficult to recover." - Anti-crime YouTuber Funaim, 44, who served five years and four months in prison for being the main suspect in a special fraud case

Potential to Spiral out of Control: In the worst cases, petty theft can escalate into assault and even murder. That's what happened to Shizuki Takarada, 22, who was arrested on suspicion of robbery and murder. He stated that when he ended up applying for a "black job,” he had found a posting on an Internet chat site called “white jobs.” The seemingly innocent part-time job he got quickly took a turn for the worse when the target of a robbery attempt fought back. Suspect Takarada's victim was a 75-year-old man who was found dead in a residential area in Aoba Ward, Yokohama City, earlier this month after being tied up and assaulted.
No Escape: Even if the formerly unsuspecting part-time workers get wise and want to quit, they may be threatened: "We will break into your home,” "We'll spread your selfie photo of your driver's license all over the Internet,” or “We'll kill you.” In fact, there have been many cases of people having their driver's license selfies posted online without their permission with the tagline, "This person is involved in illegal work," or being physically restrained or assaulted against their will. In July this year, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department arrested four high school students on suspicion of assaulting a member of their group who had quit her illegal part-time job. According to reports, the victim and the arrested students were part of a group of illegal part-time workers who had met on social media.

Once trapped, many young victims cannot escape the tentacles of the organized crime rings that run the show from behind the scenes (image sourced from Photo AC)

What they’re saying: The police are aware of this trend, but the individual stories of victims who become perpetrators of other crimes are heartbreaking.

"Young people get involved in illegal part-time work because they want money and have a casual attitude. They believe false information like 'it's a bit gray, but it's not that big a deal' or 'I won't get arrested' and think it's easy." - Head of the Public Safety Division of a Prefectural Police Department

Young people who are struggling to make ends meet can easily fall prey to these scams and get into a lot of trouble as a result. Take the case of a 23-year-old man who was involved in a robbery and assault at a pawnshop in Narashino City in September last year.

"In August 2023, I searched on X (formerly Twitter) with the keyword 'black part-time job.' At that time, my income was unstable and I was receiving nasty letters from debt collectors, so I wanted to earn money quickly. I naively thought that as long as it was a 'gray' part-time job that didn't involve criminal activity, it would be okay.” - Unsuspecting 23-year-old recruited by organized crime for part-time work

As in this case, the instructions are often passed on via social media.

"The job that caught my eye was to rent out my car. It promised 'a 10,000 yen ($65) reward for those who lend their cars’ and ‘cash on the spot.’ I thought it was a good offer, so I sent a direct message (DM) to ask for more details. The first reply instructed me to contact them in the future using the highly confidential communication app Signal and to delete my original DM. I was also asked to send my driver's license and a separate photo of my face. I was not concerned at the time because it was for a job related to cars, so I complied." - 23-year-old victim turned perpetrator

As in many other cases, the actual job ended up having very little to do with what was advertised.

"The first thing I had to do was rob a pawnshop in Koshigaya City, Saitama Prefecture. I was paired with a 17-year-old boy I had never met before. While communicating with our handler, the two of us threatened the shop staff with a kitchen knife and stole things like watches. We were also told to stab the people in the pawnshop if they resisted. My legs were shaking during the robbery, and I didn't feel like I was standing on the ground.” - 23-year-old victim turned perpetrator

After that, this guy continued to receive instructions via Signal from his boss, but he never got paid for the robbery. He told his boss that he did not want to do that kind of work anymore but was threatened, "We know your address.” The 23-year-old explained, "My driver's license had my parents' address on it. I thought my family would be involved, so I took another job from the same person selling counterfeit watches and another job renting cars." He didn't want to commit any more robberies, but he thought, "I can't outrun the boss.” However, it didn't take long for the police to catch on, and this victim/offender was arrested by the Saitama Prefectural Police.

The corrupt handlers of the young victims turned perpetrators communicate almost exclusively through encrypted social media sites like Telegram and Signal (image sourced from Photo AC)

Commentary: While I can only approach this issue as an "armchair quarterback" due to a lack of personal experience, it is true that this type of crime has been getting a lot of attention in the Japanese press lately. While I know that every country - including Japan - has an unsavory underbelly beneath its seemingly harmonious facade, it just seems so uncharacteristic of what most people conjure up in their minds about "crime-free" Japanese society. What is particularly chilling is how young people are duped into committing serious crimes, sometimes resulting in the robbery or worse of some of Japan's most vulnerable citizens - especially the elderly.

While it may not seem like realistic advice for a desperate young person who may be struggling financially and simply wants to make a quick buck, I can only echo the advice of the police by adhering to the adage "If it sounds too good to be true, it is." In other words, use common sense to avoid suspicious "help wanted" ads, and be very wary of sending confidential personal information over the Internet. If you do get involved in this type of work, it is best to go to the police, even if you are threatened.

Sophisticated Criminals Recruit for Shady Part-time Work in Japan

Unsuspecting young people looking for a quick buck often become both perpetrators and victims of crime. Remember, if it seems too good to be true, it probably is.

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