Japan Today
crime

Two U.S. Marines referred to prosecutors for robbing bars in Tokyo

19 Comments

The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department has referred two U.S. Marines, aged 26 and 20, to prosecutors on suspicion of theft and trespassing after they allegedly broke into bars after closing time and stole cash.

Police said the two men, who are stationed at the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station in Iwakuni, Yamaguchi Prefecture, are suspected of committing over a dozen thefts targeting bars across the country, FNN reported.

Police said the two men have admitted to the charge, with the 26-year-old stating, "I did it to pay for my family's medical expenses," and the 20-year-old stating, "I needed money for living expenses.”

According to investigators, the two men traveled from Yamaguchi to Tokyo by bullet train on Dec 23. On Dec 24, they used power tools to destroy a key box installed in front of a bar in Kabukicho, Shinjuku Ward, between 7 and 8 a.m., and used the key to go inside. Police said they stole approximately 27,000 yen in cash from the registers at one bar.

On the same day, more than 10 million yen in cash was stolen from another bar in Shinjuku Ward and police believe the two suspects may been involved in that robbery, gaining entry in the same way.

© Japan Today

©2026 GPlusMedia Inc.

19 Comments
Login to comment

SMH….good job guys, keep setting the “foreigners” back.

-1 ( +15 / -16 )

Enough already, start with kicking all the US Marines out.

I hear Guam is nice this time of year.

-7 ( +19 / -26 )

Guam is already walking on thin ice. The influx of military has contributed to traffic and social problems. But, hey, off-base rental homes are making a killing.

5 ( +9 / -4 )

US military recruiters are already scraping the bottom of the barrel. At the very least, Japan should insist that troops with ASVAB scores equivalent to less than 100 IQ are not allowed off-base.

12 ( +17 / -5 )

DISGUSTING to say the least.

10 ( +11 / -1 )

Severe punishment for those two.

11 ( +14 / -3 )

If this is going to happen, restrict the rest of them to the bases and punish these two under Japanese law in Japanese prisons.

8 ( +11 / -3 )

I'd love to know how they were apprehended.... Kabukicho, Shinjuku, prime Yakuza tough guy territory.

-5 ( +1 / -6 )

Police said they stole approximately 27,000 yen in cash from the registers at one bar.

Losers

3 ( +5 / -2 )

These two will face Japanese law as they carried out all these crimes off base.

It would be nice if they are also charged afterwards under UCJ article 92 or 134.

4 ( +6 / -2 )

Yamaguchi to Shinjuku by train. Not a short trip.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

M3M3M3

US military recruiters are already scraping the bottom of the barrel. At the very least, Japan should insist that troops with ASVAB scores equivalent to less than 100 IQ are not allowed off-base.

Would that not basically lock down the bases?

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

they used power tools to destroy a key box installed in front of a bar in Kabukicho, Shinjuku Ward, between 7 and 8 a.m., and used the key to go inside.

I do not get the concept of a "key box". So the bar owner puts the door key into a box and then locks that with another key? Why?

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Christ what were these idiots thinking? Punish them to the full extent of the law.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

People don’t just start doing this sort of thing, they did it before they were in the military, I betcha’

BCD, two Trials, get released from Japanese Prison and straight to Leavenworth,

for part II.

Enjoy

2 ( +2 / -0 )

They’ll think they were camping in Japanese Prison, when they get to Leavenworth

1 ( +1 / -0 )

*Marine Corps values of Honor, Courage, and Commitment, which emphasize integrity, respect, and *moral behavior

except when it's inconvenient to actually act with integrity and moral fortitude.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

ZaphodToday  01:27 am JST

they used power tools to destroy a key box installed in front of a bar in Kabukicho, Shinjuku Ward, between 7 and 8 a.m., and used the key to go inside.

I do not get the concept of a "key box". So the bar owner puts the door key into a box and then locks that with another key? Why?

'keyboxes' have a combination.... many people use them for a spare key, in case they lose or forget their regular one. in this case, it was used so as not to take the chance of losing or forgetting, I suppose.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

US military recruiters are already scraping the bottom of the barrel. At the very least, Japan should insist that troops with ASVAB scores equivalent to less than 100 IQ are not allowed off-base.

Tokyo Shinjuku Kabukicho is one of places in Japan the have many cameras, especially due to its nature of the place. That alone show their ASVAB score.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

Login to leave a comment

Facebook users

Use your Facebook account to login or register with JapanToday. By doing so, you will also receive an email inviting you to receive our news alerts.

Facebook Connect

Login with your JapanToday account

User registration

Articles, Offers & Useful Resources

A mix of what's trending on our other sites