Monkey D. Luffy of the Straw Hat Pirates and Violent Robberies in Japan

The violent underbelly of Japanese society shocks the country

Japanese society has been shocked by a series of connected violent crimes with at least 14 robberies taking place since October 2022, all seemingly arranged by a person nicknamed “Luffy” in the Philippines who recruited the culprits in Japan via social media and sent them instructions via the Telegram app.

‘Luffy’ (pictured above) refers to anime character Monkey D. Luffy, a young man made of rubber, in the Manga comic ‘One Piece’ which has been serialised since 1997. ‘One Piece’ has been the best-selling Manga for over a decade up to 2018, is in circulation in 61 countries and is reportedly the best-selling Manga series in history. ‘One Piece’ has had a significant cultural impact in Japan, with some of the characters (including Luffy) being compared to the wild and rebellious youth who older people in the country worry have lost their way with the rise of modernity.

A series of violent robberies committed by young men with no career prospects and organised by a sinister culprit going by the name of ‘Luffy’ in the Philippines will create further unease and insecurity in Japanese society. This comes soon after the murder of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, which shocked a nation not known for violent crime.

The Crimes

According to the National Police Agency, there have been at least 20 connected robberies in 14 multiple prefectures in 2022/23, with over 30 suspects arrested. Those arrested are young people aged in their teens or early 20s. Analysis of phones belonging to some of those arrested shows they received instructions from three names: Luffy, Kim and Mitsuhashi. The telephone number linked to Luffy suggested that he was in the Philippines.

Luffy and his associates in the Philippines used the Telegram app to send messages and recruit young men in Japan to carry out the robberies by advertising for “dark” part-time jobs. Luffy gave detailed instructions on how to carry out the robberies, with people tasked to carry out the crimes not knowing each other in advance. Many of robberies have been brutal home invasions.

On 5 December, a seven-member group, including a driver, targeted a three-story house in Nakano Ward around 10.50 am. They drove a rented car to the house, where two of the gang members wearing courier uniforms rang the doorbell. When the occupant opened the door, the gang forced their way inside, forced the occupant to reveal where his valuables were kept, and fled with around 30 million yen (US$230,000). The gang members were somewhat inept, as one of them dropped part of the cash near the house and was later arrested.

On 19 January, 90 year old Kinuyo Oshio was found dead in the basement of her ransacked house with her hands tied with a zip cord, beaten around the head, and with a broken kneecap. Footprints at the scene indicating that there were four culprits. This was a brutal murder, indicating that the gangs recruited for the robberies would become even more violent as some victims have been beaten with hammers.

The cases come as the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department recently warned about the dangers from 3,480 offers of yami baito (or shady part-time jobs) posted to Twitter in 2022, up from the 2,246 in 2021. Questions are being across Japanese society as to why so many open advertisements can be placed for criminal work.

The bizarre Luffy case illustrates how online fiction can influence crime in the real world.  Fictional Manga characters such as ‘Luffy’ can become so popular that they become talismanic to young people and enable others to exert influence by using the names. The job posts often recruit debt collectors and other criminals as well as trade bank account information, with the posts using terms such as "debt", "runaway from home," "success without fail", and "¥1 million or more a month” to attract applicants.

Following the ‘Luffy’ robberies, the Japanese police announced that they will expand the scope of online content subject to takedown requests which are issued to the operators of sites hosting illegal or harmful material. The move is more closely related to the murder of former Prime Minister Abe in July which highlighted the risk of overlooking dangerous online content as the culprit made a firearm after watching instructional videos online. Seven categories will be added to the list of content subject to takedown requests, including material related to gun manufacturing, murder and robbery. The measure is also aimed at preventing crimes such as the ‘Luffy’ robberies across Japan.

Who is Luffy?

The suspected planner of the robberies is believed to have sent instructions from the Philippines to Japan via the Telegram communications app. The Philippines based organiser uses the nickname “Luffy”, which is the name of a fictional character in a manga and anime story called ‘One Piece’.  ‘Monkey D. Luffy’ or ‘Straw Hat Luffy’ as he is also known, is the founder and captain of a group called the ‘Straw Hat Pirates’ and one of the best fighters in the group.

The men arrested in the Philippines are reportedly senior members of a specialist fraud group, including 36 Japanese nationals caught in suburban Manila in November 2019. The Tokyo Metropolitan Police have stated that the four suspects in the Philippines have been the subject of arrest warrants in Japan since 2019 in relation to telephone scam operations targeting elderly people.

Yuki Watanabe, believed to be “Luffy,” has been detained at an immigration facility in the Philippine capital. He was arrested in April 2021 by the Philippines authorities and was then the subject of a deportation order in May 2021. On 29 January the Philippines government announced that it had decided to deport ‘Luffy’ to Japan, but this is complicated as Watanabe is facing a criminal case in the Philippines for violence against women and children and would only be deported after either the dismissal of the case or service of a sentence. The Philippines Minister for Justice stated on 31 January that one of the four suspects is likely to be returned to Japan in the next few days, which indicates that ‘Luffy’ himself may be deported.

Most embarrassing for the Philippines authorities, ‘Luffy’ seems to have been sending instructions for the robberies via Telegram whilst detained by the authorities in the Philippines after being arrested in May 2021 in relation to other crimes. The situation indicates corruption in the Philippines Bureau of Immigration which has somehow allowed Japanese criminals to remotely operate their criminal business in Japan, presumably using smart phones, from within a detention centre.

The case is troubling for multiple reasons. Firstly, how did a Japanese criminal detained by the Philippines authorities since 2021 manage to continue to direct violent crimes carried out in Japan? Secondly, how many young people (mostly men) are there in Japan who are susceptible to manipulation by criminals using social media and popular Manga themes? In addition, how many Japanese criminals are operating in other countries in Asia to evade police in Japan, but are still able to commit crimes in the country?

The Luffy case indicates a hidden underbelly of crime in Japan that is not well reported. There are deep rooted cultural reasons why Japan does not seem to openly acknowledge such criminal problems, but as the country grapples with the continuing challenges of globalisation it is important for more openness about the social problems driving crime.  

The Luffy case has some important lessons for Japan, but also other countries across Asia as transnational organised crime is a tangible phenomena that is being illustrated in cases across the region.