"Grandson's Part-Time Job Turns Out to Be Robbery and Murder"… 'Aruba' That Drove Japan into Shock

Dark Part-Time Jobs Rising as Japan's New Organized Crime
Anonymous Requests Lead to Murder, Arson, Robbery, and More
Most Participants Are Young Adults Around Their 20s

There is a so-called "Yami Baito (闇バイト·Yamibaito)," a new type of crime method that has recently emerged as the biggest problem in Japanese society. It refers to a group of young people who commit crimes without hesitation, including robbery and murder, for the purpose of making money.

A Japanese media outlet interviewed the grandfather of a suspect in his 20s who was recently arrested for participating in Yami Baito. The family was reportedly so shocked by the suspect's horrific crimes that they could hardly speak.

The local daily newspaper Sankei Shimbun reported on the 22nd (local time) about the grandfather of Mazuki Takada (22), a suspect in the Yami Baito case. Takada was recently arrested in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, on charges of robbery and murder.

Night view of Tokyo, Japan. Part-time jobs in the dark are mainly taking place near the metropolitan area.
[Image source=Getty Images]

Takada's grandfather recalled his childhood, saying, "My grandson dropped out of high school because he 'got tired of it,' and afterward worked in construction. He never caused any trouble during elementary school and used to play in his room with friends living nearby on weekends."

He also expressed his shock, saying that Takada was usually "kind to his family, helping with household chores like mowing the lawn," and that he did not seem much different on the day the incident occurred.

He lamented, "I am sorry to both him (Takada) and the families of the victims," and added, "How I wish he had stopped as soon as he realized he was involved in a crime."

Takada is one of the young criminals involved in the so-called Yami Baito. Local police estimate that more than 35 suspects participated in the case. Earlier, on the 15th, a victim in their 70s living in a house in Yokohama was found dead with their hands and feet bound with tape. The victim's body showed signs of assault with fists and blunt objects. Approximately 200,000 yen (about 1.81 million KRW) in cash was stolen from the house.

Takada was caught by the police on the 19th, just four days after the investigation began. He was involved in the Yami Baito, a group conspiring and executing heinous crimes for money, and was reportedly under pressure from debt collection at the time of the incident.

Report on the 'Dark Part-time Job' Incident Occurred in the Tokyo Metropolitan Area [Image Source=Japan TBS YouTube Channel]

Yami Baito is a new form of organized crime that has recently shocked Japanese society. It is a kind of "outsourced crime," where young people perform illegal tasks as if they were working part-time jobs at restaurants or convenience stores. They are known to commit murder and arson for money without hesitation.

Recruitment and job seeking for Yami Baito take place on social networking services (SNS) such as X. The payment per case is high, exceeding 1 million yen (about 9 million KRW), and the participants strictly divide roles and operate in a cell-like structure. It is known that young people struggling with debt collection or lacking living expenses are drawn to Yami Baito.

Yami Baito came to the forefront after a robbery-murder case in Tokyo in January last year. At that time, a woman living in Tokyo was found dead with her watch, ring, and other valuables stolen. Police investigations revealed that the crime was ordered anonymously via SNS by someone residing in the Philippines, and the total number of participants in Yami Baito was around 100. Most of the part-timers were young people in their early 20s.

In April, a case in Tochigi Prefecture where a couple in their 50s was found burned to death was also revealed to be the work of Yami Baito. Among the six suspects arrested for involvement in the case was Kang Kwang-gi (20), a Korean, which caused a shock.