Crime & Courts

2 of 4 Japanese Suspects to Be Deported Tuesday

Noriaki Sasaki / The Yomiuri Shimbun
Philippine Justice Secretary Jesus Remulla speaks to reporters in Manila on Monday.

By Sho Komine and Shinsuke Yasuda / Yomiuri Shimbun Correspondents

9:01 JST, February 7, 2023

MANILA — Two of four Japanese men suspected of involvement in a recent string of robberies in Japan, currently being held in a detention center near Manila, will be deported on Tuesday, Philippine Justice Secretary Jesus Remulla said Monday.

The two suspects are Kiyoto Imamura, 38, and Toshiya Fujita, 38.

Court hearings for the other two suspects, Yuki Watanabe, 38, and Tomonobu Kojima, 45, who are facing charges in the Philippines, were held on Monday. However, the court did not deliberate on whether or not to dismiss the charges on the day. In the Philippines, defendants facing criminal charges within the country cannot be deported.

The four were believed to have played key roles in a fraud group that Philippine investigative authorities cracked down on in 2019. The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department issued arrest warrants for them on theft charges as the fraud targeted victims in Japan.