Series of Violent Crimes... 'Eodum-ui Albait' That Plunged Japan into Fear

Crime Related to 'Yamibaito' Occurs
Gathering People via SNS to Order Crimes
Korean Men Also Involved

Recent violent crimes that have occurred consecutively in Japan are known to be related to "dark part-time jobs." [Source=Japan TBS YouTube Channel]

Recently, a series of serious crimes related to so-called 'Yamibaito' (a compound word combining 'yami' (darkness) and 'arubaito' (part-time job)) have occurred in Japan.

According to local media such as the Yomiuri Shimbun on the 18th, Japanese investigative authorities suspect that the same individual is behind incidents that took place in four prefectures: Tokyo, Saitama, Kanagawa, and Chiba, and have established a joint investigation headquarters. In the Tokyo metropolitan area, a series of robberies and robbery-murders occurred continuously over about two months from August 29 to September 16.

On the 16th, a man in his 70s was found dead with his limbs tied up in a house located in Aoba Ward, Yokohama City, and approximately 200,000 yen (about 1.82 million KRW) was stolen from inside the house. On the same day, a robbery occurred at a house in Chiba Prefecture, where a mother and daughter in their 70s and 40s were bound and cash and other valuables were taken.

The Yomiuri Shimbun reported, citing investigative sources, that all four crimes?the incidents in Kanagawa on August 31 and September 3, the Saitama incident on September 18, and the Tokyo incident on September 28?were carried out under the instructions of a user named 'Oyama' on the encrypted app 'Signal'.

The mastermind behind the crimes is still unknown, but among the 13 offenses, 25 perpetrators involved in 7 cases have been arrested. They are reported to have acted under the orders of about 20 accounts on social networking services (SNS) using names such as 'Oyama', 'Natsume Soseki', and 'Jojo'.

This type of crime is called a 'dark part-time job' because the 'perpetrators' recruited through SNS commit crimes according to the demands of the 'commanders'. Earlier in April, a man in his 20s of Korean nationality was arrested by the police for participating as a 'perpetrator' in the murder of a couple who ran a restaurant.