22-Year-Old Man Arrested over Robbery-Murder in Yokohama; Applied on Social Media for ‘Dark Part-Time’ Job

The Yomiuri Shimbun

13:55 JST, October 21, 2024

A 22-year-old man has been arrested in a murder-robbery case that occurred in Yokohama. According to police, the suspect Mazuki Takarada admitted to the charges, saying he and two other people committed the crime.

Takarada, who was arrested on Saturday, is likely to have been involved in the case after applying for a job on a social media without knowing that it was a so-called dark part-time job, and he said that he had provided his personal information and could not refuse the job.

According to the police, Takarada, in conspiracy with several others, is suspected of assaulting and killing 75-year-old Hiroharu Goto and taking about ¥200,000 in cash from his home around Oct. 15. Several necklaces and other items were also missing from Goto’s home.

Takarada was quoted by police as saying he was in arrears for several hundred thousand yen in taxes and was looking on social media for a part-time job that would allow him to earn money in a short period of time, and he applied for a job after finding a post that seemed like a legitimate job. However, he said: “I realized that I was going to be involved in a crime along the way, but I couldn’t refuse because I thought my family might be harmed,” according to the police.

According to police sources, he drove his own car to Goto’s home after receiving instructions and three people carried out the robbery. Takarada said he was not acquainted with the other two and used a highly confidential communication app to communicate with the ringleader.

According to Takarada’s father, who lives with the suspect, he works as an independent contractor in the painting industry and left the house in his car late at night on Oct. 14 and returned home early morning two days later.