Japanese police have taken protective measures for applicants for “dark” part-time jobs and their family members in 125 cases as of the end of November, it was learned Thursday.
According to sources at the National Police Agency, 30% of such people, including those involved in the recent series of violent robberies in the Tokyo metropolitan area, were between the ages of 10 and 19, and 40% were in their 20s. Meanwhile, people in their 30s, 40s and 50s or older each accounted for 10%.
The agency also found that in many robbery cases, applicants aged 10 to 19 and those in their 20s were instructed to directly engage in criminal acts such as transporting stolen money and articles, while older people were told to sign mobile phone contracts and open bank accounts.
“Please don’t give in to threats, even if criminals are grabbing your personal information,” NPA Commissioner General Yasuhiro Tsuyuki said at a news conference the same day. “Police will protect you.”
Since mid-October, the agency has been explaining to the public through online videos how people are hired for dark jobs and calling on applicants for such jobs to seek police advice and protection.
Prefectural police, for their part, have been giving advice to those applicants as well as their family members and taking protection measures for them, such as relocating them to safe places or strengthening patrols in related areas.