TOKYO (TR) – Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested two men who are suspected of repeatedly stealing wallets and other items from people sleeping on JR Yamanote Line trains, reports Nippon News Network (Feb. 9).
At around 12:50 a.m. on February 7, Hideyuki Imabuchi, 71, and Masaru Yasuhara, 60, allegedly stole a wallet containing approximately 33,000 yen in cash from a man, 26, who was sleeping on a JR Yamanote Line train at JR Ikebukuro Station in Toshima Ward.
During questioning, Imabuchi, who lives in Kawaguchi City, Saitama Prefecture, admitted to the charges. He said, “I felt seduced when I saw the man sleeping soundly.” However, Yasuhara denied the charges. “I had nothing to do with it,” he said.
As the train was departing Ikebukuro, Imabuchi sat next to the sleeping man and rummaged through his clothes and bag while Yasuhara, from Tokyo’s Kita Ward, stood guard to conceal the crime.
Investigators observed the incident and arrested the two suspects on the spot.
The two men are believed to have repeatedly committed similar crimes on the JR Yamanote Line since January last year.
