The Tokyo District Court opened the trial of Yuki Watanabe, 42, described as a senior figure in a fraud ring that ordered robberies under the name "Luffy," with the defense denying conspiracy in three of seven robberies and seeking acquittal, the Asahi Shimbun reported.
Watanabe pleaded not guilty to the three, telling the court on Wednesday, "I did not conspire with my accomplices." For the remaining four, including a fatal robbery, he said, "I only helped."
His lawyers argued he "did not play an important role in the incidents" and that his involvement amounted to aiding, not conspiracy. He admitted all 12 fraud charges against him.
The charges
The seven robbery cases include an October 2022 attack on a family of three at a home in Inagi, western Tokyo, in which about 35 million yen in cash was taken. They also include a January 2023 break-in at a home in Komae, where a 90-year-old resident was assaulted and died.
Watanabe faces charges of robbery resulting in injury and robbery resulting in death. Robbery resulting in death carries a sentence of death or life imprisonment.
How prosecutors describe the ring
In its opening statement, the prosecution said Watanabe went to Thailand in 2017 and set up a base for fraud. He moved to the Philippines the following year and recruited people to make the fraudulent calls, running the operation as an organization.
He was known within the group as "boss," according to the prosecution. After Philippine authorities detained him in 2019, he and accomplices directed the perpetrators from inside the detention facility, the prosecution said.
Prosecutors told the lay judges that no one has been sentenced to death for robbery resulting in death. They asked the panel to consider "what makes this case different from past robbery-murder cases."
The defense said accomplices detained with Watanabe led the robberies, and that being a senior figure in the group does not by itself establish conspiracy.
Others in the group
Four people, including Watanabe, were charged as senior members of the group. One man, 48, who recruited perpetrators, has had a 20-year prison term finalized.
Seiya Fujita, 42, who is accused of giving instructions, received life imprisonment and has appealed. The trial of Makoto Imamura, 42, has not yet begun.