Yakuza lieutenant arrested for stealing Pokémon cards

The Tokyo Metropolitan Police announced that they have arrested a Yakuza lieutenant from one of Japan’s largest organized crime groups.

The arrest is related to a robbery that took place on December 29, 2022. 29 items were stolen, which have a combined value of 252,000 yen. However, it was the 25 Pokémon cards stolen by the 39-year-old Yakuza member that caught the attention.

The Yakuza has already admitted to having carried out the robbery and stealing the letters and you can see a video of the arrest above.

Although Japan has experienced a surprising increase in trading card thefts recently, it is still unusual to see a full member of the yakuza, and someone who is above the organization’s lowest echelon, arrested for this type of crime, prompting reactions online like:

• “So even the yakuza like Pokémon”
• “Instead of catching everyone, he was caught”
• “This guy doesn’t really look like a yakuza.”
• “So does that mean there’s someone in the yakuza whose job it is to evaluate Pokémon cards?”
• “If you consider that the yakuza have connections to game stands at festivals where they steal children’s allowance money, it’s not that surprising to see them doing this too.”