GUNMA (TR) – Gunma Prefectural Police have arrested a 32-year-old man accused of attempting to rob a convenience store at knifepoint while intentionally faking a foreign accent to throw off investigators, reports TV Asahi (Aug. 19).
Atsushi Goto is accused of entering a Lawson convenience store in the town of Oizumi at around 2:30 a.m. on Tuesday. He allegedly pointed a knife at the store manager, a man in his 50s, and demanded cash.
Upon his arrest, Goto admitted to the allegations, revealing a bizarre tactic to mask his identity. “I spoke in broken Japanese,” saying ‘Okane wo kudasai‘ (please give me money), to disguise myself as a foreigner,” he told police.
The ploy ultimately proved unsuccessful. After the store manager resisted the demand, Goto fled the scene empty-handed. The manager suffered no injuries in the altercation.
Investigators were able to track Goto down and identify him using security camera footage and forensic evidence left at the scene.
Police are now investigating Goto’s potential involvement in a separate robbery that took place the previous day. That day, a suspect made off with 30,000 yen in cash from a convenience store in Isesaki City, located roughly 20 kilometers from the Oizumi store.
Based on security footage from that incident, police suspect Goto is connected to both crimes.
