(Update) Key "Luffy" Crime Group Member Gets 20 Yrs in Prison

   Tokyo, July 23 (Jiji Press)--Tokyo District Court on Wednesday sentenced Tomonobu Kojima, a senior member of a Philippines-based Japanese crime group, to 20 years in prison for his involvement in a series of robbery and fraud cases across Japan.
   This is the first court ruling for any of the four senior members of the group indicted over the high-profile robberies. The ringleaders went by names including "Luffy."
   Presiding Judge Masamichi Itatsu said that the robbery scheme was a "new type of serious crime," handing down the severe punishment "from the perspective of deterrence."
   Kojima, 47, was indicted on charges of recruiting individuals involved in robbery cases from October to December 2022, including those in the city of Inagi, Tokyo, the capital's Nakano Ward and the western city of Iwakuni, Yamaguchi Prefecture. He also allegedly swindled a total of about 54 million yen in 2019.
   During his trial, Kojima admitted to the charges. Public prosecutors sought a 23-year sentence.

(2025/07/23-21:06)