Yakuza member arrested for allegedly stealing Pokemon cards

A high-ranking member of the yakuza has been arrested in Japan after being accused of stealing Pokemon cards during a break-in.

On April 29, the Tachikawa Precinct of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police announced they arrested Keita Saito, an accounting executive from one of Japan’s largest organized crime groups, the Sumiyoshi-kai.

The arrest was for a theft which happened on December 29, 2022. 29 items were stolen, which have a combined value of 252,000 yen ($1,625). However, it was the 25 Pokemon cards that were allegedly stolen by the 39-year-old yakuza member that garnered attention.

It came as a surprise to many as it juxtaposes the yakuza’s stereotypical image of more serious crimes that have often been glamorized in films and games. “So even the yakuza are into Pokémon,” one said, as another commented: “Instead of catching ‘em all, he got caught.”

On the other hand, a person claimed: “If you take into account that the yakuza have connections to game stalls at festivals where they scam kids out of their allowance money, it’s not so surprising to see them doing this too,” a person claimed.

Saito has since confessed to the crime, but, according to authorities in Tokyo, he was not the only person involved. Hidefumi Kuboshita has been arrested on suspicion of orchestrating the robbery but has denied all claims of his involvement.

Two more suspects are also believed to be involved in the theft of the Pokemon cards and were allegedly recruited online.