Knife-welding thieves steal luxury watches worth <$1M in Ginza; witnesses close the door?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukjPksfJ7ik
Watch phone video of 3 masked thieves who robbed the Quark Ginza 888 watch shop during the day. The thieves wielded knives. Thankfully, no one was hurt, and 4 teenage suspects were arrested. Some of the #rolex and other luxury brand watches taken in the heist were recovered in and around the getaway vehicle.
Japan Times and other news agencies are reporting that the 3 teens and 2 others that remained in the getaway van were unacquainted and possibly hired through a dark part-time jobs posting.
It's interesting to see the surprised reactions of passersby, two of whom close the glass door, while thieves smash glass display cases inside.
I imagine this type of crime is rare in Japan. What are your thoughts on this? Why close the door? Was the person who bankrolled this operation tired of being on the waitlist?
He tried it! He likes it! Hey, Mikey!
Better luck next time. I think they were heeding the old adage about not letting the door hit you on the way out?
Oscar’s change is freaking me out! :-)
Perhaps they were trying to lock them in the store until the police get there?
Most high end places have shatter proof store fronts, so there was little risk to the guy trying to close them in the store short of being over powered.
Oscar’s change is freaking me out! :-)
Perhaps they were trying to lock them in the store until the police get there?
Most high end places have shatter proof store fronts, so there was little risk to the guy trying to close them in the store short of being over powered.
That's a thought - and the petite woman actually tried to hold them in. She clearly knew what was going on, but didn't hesitate.
It's not clear what was used to smash the cases, which would also likely be pretty sturdy is most places. I'd bet the shop and others like it will see some changes to structures, if only for insurance purposes. Then again, we don't know who allegedly hired these kids...
That's a thought - and the petite woman actually tried to hold them in. She clearly knew what was going on, but didn't hesitate.
It's not clear what was used to smash the cases, which would also likely be pretty sturdy is most places. I'd bet the shop and others like it will see some changes to structures, if only for insurance purposes. Then again, we don't know who allegedly hired these kids...
It is shocking how many display cases in high end places are little more than tempered glass. I realize it’s a cost analysis, but if they are in a high end, heavy traffic area, wouldn’t it be worth it? Not sure how legit this video is, but I’ve seen previous demos like this for home glass etc.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=6&v=Bnh-mGP7fLw&embeds_euri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.highsecuritydisplay.com%2F&source_ve_path=Mjg2NjY&feature=emb_logo
It is shocking how many display cases in high end places are little more than tempered glass. I realize it’s a cost analysis, but if they are in a high end, heavy traffic area, wouldn’t it be worth it? Not sure how legit this video is, but I’ve seen previous demos like this for home glass etc.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=6&v=Bnh-mGP7fLw&embeds_euri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.highsecuritydisplay.com%2F&source_ve_path=Mjg2NjY&feature=emb_logo
I'm not sure if our hurricane windows are this strong... 😂
This happened in Japan??? Craziness.
From what I understand, homicides are pretty much the only reliable crime statistic - there's a dead body and it's harder to sweep them under the rug the way violent crimes / property crimes often are.
https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/murder-rate-by-country
If you think of homicide as a proxy for general criminality, Japan is the country with lowest crime IN THE WORLD. To have this happen in Japan is nearly unthinkable!
This happened in Japan??? Craziness.
From what I understand, homicides are pretty much the only reliable crime statistic - there's a dead body and it's harder to sweep them under the rug the way violent crimes / property crimes often are.
https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/murder-rate-by-country
If you think of homicide as a proxy for general criminality, Japan is the country with lowest crime IN THE WORLD. To have this happen in Japan is nearly unthinkable!
I think it says something they arrested them within minutes.
Reminds me of the opening scene of The Dark Knight with all the guys in clown masks.
This happened in Japan??? Craziness.
From what I understand, homicides are pretty much the only reliable crime statistic - there's a dead body and it's harder to sweep them under the rug the way violent crimes / property crimes often are.
https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/murder-rate-by-country
If you think of homicide as a proxy for general criminality, Japan is the country with lowest crime IN THE WORLD. To have this happen in Japan is nearly unthinkable!
1000% Japan is unthinkably safe. When I was there Two months ago I saw people wearing Navitimers and vintage Rolex on the train. I see kids around the age of 7 walking home alone no problems. Same at night very safe to walk at all hours. You basically need to look hard for trouble to get arrested.
This has been all over the news in Japan today. All the culprits were in their teens and didn’t know each other - these people who use youngsters like pawns through “dark part-time job” listings is pretty scary.
This happened in Japan??? Craziness.
From what I understand, homicides are pretty much the only reliable crime statistic - there's a dead body and it's harder to sweep them under the rug the way violent crimes / property crimes often are.
https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/murder-rate-by-country
If you think of homicide as a proxy for general criminality, Japan is the country with lowest crime IN THE WORLD. To have this happen in Japan is nearly unthinkable!
The families of the criminals will publicly apologize and live with this shame for generations. Where does the US rank in murder rate 🇺🇸?
The families of the criminals will publicly apologize and live with this shame for generations. Where does the US rank in murder rate 🇺🇸?
US is middle of the pack at #76, with a homicide rate of ~5 per 100k (pre-COVID). So, roughly 20x that of Japan!
Was talking with a buddy who is Australian. Told him about a sex offender who had broken into my neighbor’s house and how our neighborhood responded, and how everyone who was previously very social justicey suddenly was talking about buying guns! He said, “Would you really do that?” My answer, “Absolutely! Unfortunately, my wife won’t let me.” He said, “Man, that would be totally unthinkable in Australia!” My answer, “Yeah, but that’s only because crime effectively doesn’t exist in Australia. Your homicide rate is 0.89 per 100k, so less than 20% that of the US. You don’t need guns. We need guns here to kill criminals.”
I then told him about the crazy homeless guy who tried to attack my wife, and how I’ve now enrolled her in Krav Maga. Told him about the crazy homeless guy who attacked me and how I knocked out a number of his teeth and held him down until the police arrived.
Unfortunately, defending yourself in blue state America can get you arrested and charged with a felony these days. The sex offender? He was released 1 hour after having broken into our neighbor’s house, whereupon he broke in 2 more times!
There are some big headlines right at this moment about a gentleman who defended himself in New York, and apparently the DA is considering slapping him with murder charges. Defend yourself? You risk getting sent to prison!
This happened in Japan??? Craziness.
From what I understand, homicides are pretty much the only reliable crime statistic - there's a dead body and it's harder to sweep them under the rug the way violent crimes / property crimes often are.
https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/murder-rate-by-country
If you think of homicide as a proxy for general criminality, Japan is the country with lowest crime IN THE WORLD. To have this happen in Japan is nearly unthinkable!
Yup - almost unheard of…hence, last year’s assassination of former PM Shinzo Abe rocked the entire world!
US is middle of the pack at #76, with a homicide rate of ~5 per 100k (pre-COVID). So, roughly 20x that of Japan!
Was talking with a buddy who is Australian. Told him about a sex offender who had broken into my neighbor’s house and how our neighborhood responded, and how everyone who was previously very social justicey suddenly was talking about buying guns! He said, “Would you really do that?” My answer, “Absolutely! Unfortunately, my wife won’t let me.” He said, “Man, that would be totally unthinkable in Australia!” My answer, “Yeah, but that’s only because crime effectively doesn’t exist in Australia. Your homicide rate is 0.89 per 100k, so less than 20% that of the US. You don’t need guns. We need guns here to kill criminals.”
I then told him about the crazy homeless guy who tried to attack my wife, and how I’ve now enrolled her in Krav Maga. Told him about the crazy homeless guy who attacked me and how I knocked out a number of his teeth and held him down until the police arrived.
Unfortunately, defending yourself in blue state America can get you arrested and charged with a felony these days. The sex offender? He was released 1 hour after having broken into our neighbor’s house, whereupon he broke in 2 more times!
There are some big headlines right at this moment about a gentleman who defended himself in New York, and apparently the DA is considering slapping him with murder charges. Defend yourself? You risk getting sent to prison!
Dang Brian, you’re like Jet Li! Can you autograph my Seiko at the meetup?! 🤙😆🤙
US is middle of the pack at #76, with a homicide rate of ~5 per 100k (pre-COVID). So, roughly 20x that of Japan!
Was talking with a buddy who is Australian. Told him about a sex offender who had broken into my neighbor’s house and how our neighborhood responded, and how everyone who was previously very social justicey suddenly was talking about buying guns! He said, “Would you really do that?” My answer, “Absolutely! Unfortunately, my wife won’t let me.” He said, “Man, that would be totally unthinkable in Australia!” My answer, “Yeah, but that’s only because crime effectively doesn’t exist in Australia. Your homicide rate is 0.89 per 100k, so less than 20% that of the US. You don’t need guns. We need guns here to kill criminals.”
I then told him about the crazy homeless guy who tried to attack my wife, and how I’ve now enrolled her in Krav Maga. Told him about the crazy homeless guy who attacked me and how I knocked out a number of his teeth and held him down until the police arrived.
Unfortunately, defending yourself in blue state America can get you arrested and charged with a felony these days. The sex offender? He was released 1 hour after having broken into our neighbor’s house, whereupon he broke in 2 more times!
There are some big headlines right at this moment about a gentleman who defended himself in New York, and apparently the DA is considering slapping him with murder charges. Defend yourself? You risk getting sent to prison!
This:
"You don’t need guns. We need guns here to kill criminals.”
is everything wrong with Americas gun laws in one line. I hope you fully understand the absurdity of what you just wrote.
1000% Japan is unthinkably safe. When I was there Two months ago I saw people wearing Navitimers and vintage Rolex on the train. I see kids around the age of 7 walking home alone no problems. Same at night very safe to walk at all hours. You basically need to look hard for trouble to get arrested.
Or be a foreigner. Then its fairly easy to get arrested.
The highest levels of gun crime are in states with the most permissive gun laws, which are all states with Republican administrations.
Big “Democrat run cities” are very safe. Compare crime rates in New York City vs Jacksonville, for example.
Compare School shootings in Texas to school shootings in Minnesota. Also Jacksonville has 962,970 peoople. New York has 15,443,707. This is whats called a false equivalency. Have some honesty man.
I haven’t imported a watch that’s been over the limit before. I’ve heard though that some retailers will list a watch as parts or something to avoid the import duty. Is that a common practice? Or should you expect to pay duties? How much are they for the US?
Not sure. Everything so far was under the $800 limit.
Compare School shootings in Texas to school shootings in Minnesota. Also Jacksonville has 962,970 peoople. New York has 15,443,707. This is whats called a false equivalency. Have some honesty man.
Yes NYC has many more people and is much denser than Jacksonville, which is one reason why it is notable that NYC is so much safer than Jacksonville.
Also Texas has had an order of magnitude more school shootings than Minnesota in the past 50 years.
Maybe your point is not coming across clearly though?
Not sure. Everything so far was under the $800 limit.
This is what I found with a quick google:
"Customs and Border Patrol charges a 3% import tax on the first $1000 beyond the $800 exemption. They charge 6.5% on any amount above the first grand."
So less than sales tax where I am (Minnesota), but not by a lot.
This is what I found with a quick google:
"Customs and Border Patrol charges a 3% import tax on the first $1000 beyond the $800 exemption. They charge 6.5% on any amount above the first grand."
So less than sales tax where I am (Minnesota), but not by a lot.
Thanks!
The fact that the first screen shot says "tax free" is both hilarious and ironic.
Ha! I wish. It was more like a total comedy of errors!
Was helping out at a charity rummage sale for an AIDS clinic in SF
Dude shows up with a woman's handbag, and a woman's wallet with her driver's license was sticking out - clearly not his bag!
I say to him, "Yo... looks like you have someone's bag"
He gets really agitated, and the director of the clinic comes over and talks to the guy really calmly, and he tells me, "I got this"
They go around the corner to discuss, and then 5 seconds later, the director comes stumbling around the corner, the dude is on his back, pounding on his head, and blood is streaming from the director's temple
I rush over... well, I hobble over, because the day before I'd thrown out my back playing squash!
I grab the guy by the shoulders, but his jacket comes off in my hands, and I'm standing there looking at an empty jacket in my hands, like "What? Why is there a jacket in my hands?"
Dude pulls back and throws a haymaker at my head, which I see at the very last moment, and I rear back, and his fist grazes my glasses, and they go flying!
Now I'm blind as a bat!
But, somehow, gather my senses, and throw a punch, and hit him flush in the face
Blood gushing from his mouth and nose, my knuckles are split, and I'm thinking, "OMG... we're at an AIDS clinic!"
Go to kick him... in the heat of the moment, I'd forgotten that I'd thrown out my back the day before, and as soon as I raise my leg, a stabbing pain shoots up my back!
I start screaming, "AIIIIIYYYYYYEEEEEEEEE!!!"
Dude looks at me startled and wild-eyed - like I'm guessing he's thinking, "I thought I was the crazy one, but clearly this guy is way crazier than me!"
He sits down and says, "I'm done. I don't want to fight anymore" - I guess screaming like a maniac for seemingly no reason has its uses sometimes?
Police come
I ask, "What's going to happen now?"
Policeman: "Eh... we'll bring him in... and then he'll be back out on the streets in about an hour or so"
You need to write a story about this. And then make it into a movie.
The fact that the first screen shot says "tax free" is both hilarious and ironic.
That was so weird! Wonder who added that headline. True, but silly to state: both stealing and foreigners buying in Ginza/Japan is tax free
No leniency in the Japanese court system . Those dickhead boys have stuffed their whole futures. Face and standing is Everything in many Asian cultures including Japanese culture….. Loved that brave lady trying to close the door so the auto lock might trigger , smart decisive thinking 🤔
Or be a foreigner. Then its fairly easy to get arrested.
Being a foreigner is always easy to get arrested anywhere especially if you love alcohol lol.
The effect of playing too much GTA V on teenagers.
This:
"You don’t need guns. We need guns here to kill criminals.”
is everything wrong with Americas gun laws in one line. I hope you fully understand the absurdity of what you just wrote.
I'd rather have a gun then have to call and wait for one to show up when someone is threatening my safety.
Let me add some local tidbits for a possibly better understanding for non-Japanese WC members about the incident.
1) Quark 888 is one of the numerous Rolex dealers who are not listed as official dealers of Rolex Japan Ltd..They source the watches from Hong Kong, Singapore etc. So called parallel importers.
2) The shops location is block 8 of the Ginza district, which is not exactly the high end of Ginza catering to affluent Japanese or affluent inbound tourists. It is also not on Ginza street (route 15) but in a back alley. The three official Rolex retailers in Ginza are concentrated around the iconic Wako (Seiko) gallery along with other official outlets of high end brand stuff. Block 8 is better known for its high-end bars. But still the rents are astronomical. Maybe they had to cut costs in security measures.
3) Many passersby thought that it was a distasteful prank of some kind. The vast majority of us have and most probably will never witness a crime in progress. Thus the hesitation of the lady closing the door.
Let me add some local tidbits for a possibly better understanding for non-Japanese WC members about the incident.
1) Quark 888 is one of the numerous Rolex dealers who are not listed as official dealers of Rolex Japan Ltd..They source the watches from Hong Kong, Singapore etc. So called parallel importers.
2) The shops location is block 8 of the Ginza district, which is not exactly the high end of Ginza catering to affluent Japanese or affluent inbound tourists. It is also not on Ginza street (route 15) but in a back alley. The three official Rolex retailers in Ginza are concentrated around the iconic Wako (Seiko) gallery along with other official outlets of high end brand stuff. Block 8 is better known for its high-end bars. But still the rents are astronomical. Maybe they had to cut costs in security measures.
3) Many passersby thought that it was a distasteful prank of some kind. The vast majority of us have and most probably will never witness a crime in progress. Thus the hesitation of the lady closing the door.
Thank you! It's great to have a better understanding.