By SEIYA HARA/ Staff Writer
June 12, 2023 at 13:44 JST
Investigators check the entrance of the vintage watch store in Kawasaki on June 11. (Seiya Hara)
KAWASAKI—A store manager and passers-by chased down a masked man suspected of being part of a smash-and-grab robbery at a watch shop here, reminiscent of the brazen heist in Tokyo’s Ginza district last month.
Kanagawa prefectural police said they received an emergency call about a robbery at Sweetroad, a store specializing in vintage watches, in Kawasaki around 1 p.m. on June 11.
The store is located on a busy street about 500 meters west of JR Kawasaki Station.
Witnesses said two masked robbers broke into the watch store, smashed display cases with what looked like a crowbar, and stole watches.
As they fled, they assaulted a store clerk, causing minor injuries, police said.
Takahiro Yagi, 26, who resides in Takatsuki, Osaka Prefecture, was arrested on suspicion of robbery resulting in injury after he was subdued by passers-by.
A male restaurant employee, 26, who was one of the people who chased the suspect, said two people broke into the watch store.
The man said Yagi had a Rolex watch and eyeglasses in his pocket, and he did not say anything immediately after he was arrested.
Police are searching for another person who fled the scene.
A woman in her 40s said she saw one of the robbers was nearly caught after tripping in front of the store, but he got up and ran away.
She said a store employee shouted: “He’s a robber! Catch him!”
Another woman who saw the robbery said, “I was surprised that such an incident happened in broad daylight.”
On May 8, three masked robbers forced their way into Quark Ginza 888, a store specializing in Rolex watches in the busy Ginza district of Tokyo, around 6:15 p.m., smashed display cases, stuffed watches and other goods into bags, and fled in a van.
Four teenagers have been arrested in connection with the Ginza heist, and the stolen items were confiscated, Tokyo police said.
A woman in her 50s, who was walking near the crime scene in Kawasaki, said: “There have been so many violent incidents lately. It’s scary.”
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