On the afternoon of August 7th, a major robbery and murder case occurred in Osaka, Japan. A 27-year-old Chinese man robbed a high-end watch from a jewelry store on the commercial street of Shinsaibashi in the central district of Osaka, and stabbed a male store clerk, who later succumbed to his injuries. A few hours later, the suspect was arrested at Kansai International Airport and confessed to the crime.
At around 1:30 p.m. on the 7th local time, a man entered a jewelry store on the commercial street of Shinsaibashi in the central district of Osaka, asking a female store clerk to show him a 62.8 million yen (approximately $428,000) Patek Philippe watch from the display case. Suddenly, the man pulled out a knife to threaten the female store clerk, then fled with the watch, stabbing a male store clerk in the abdomen as he tried to stop him at the door.
Shinsaibashi is located in a bustling area of Osaka, and many people witnessed the incident. One witness said, “The man ran right in front of me, and when I looked into the store, I saw a clerk clutching his left abdomen and falling down.” Another witness described the suspect as tall, possibly around 1.8 meters, and bald.
The Osaka police immediately launched an investigation and around 4:10 p.m., the suspect was spotted at the airport terminal building of Kansai International Airport and arrested on charges of robbery and attempted murder. The police found the stolen Patek Philippe watch on him during the arrest.
The Osaka Prefectural Police found a blood-stained knife in the bushes near the store, and as the suspect fled to Kansai International Airport, he removed his bald wig, changed into a T-shirt. Police found discarded blood-stained tissues in a restroom at Nankai Namba Station.
Currently, the police have not disclosed more information about the suspect except that he is 27 years old and of Chinese nationality. The suspect has admitted to the armed robbery.
Additionally, the injured store clerk has tragically passed away due to the severity of his injuries. The Osaka police have reclassified the case as a robbery and murder.
Shinsaibashi’s commercial street where the incident took place is located near Namba Station on the Osaka Metro Midosuji Line, spanning eight blocks with a length of about 600 meters. It boasts around 140 shops including clothing stores and brand outlets, becoming a popular shopping destination for foreign tourists in recent years.
Major criminal cases involving Chinese nationals manufactured in Japan have been reported in the past. For example, the Fukuoka family annihilation case that occurred on June 20, 2003, where three Chinese exchange students Wei Wei, Wang Liang, and Yang Ning robbed and murdered the Matsumoto Shinjiro family of four individuals. They cruelly disposed of the bodies in the bay in an attempt to cover up the crime.
On December 26, 2019, Wei Wei was executed in Fukuoka Detention Center, becoming the first Chinese national to be executed in Japan.
The day after the incident, Wang Liang and Yang Ning fled back to China. On October 19, 2004, Wang Liang was arrested by the police for other offenses and during interrogation, he confessed to his criminal activities in Japan and provided information about Yang Ning’s whereabouts. On January 24, 2005, Yang Ning was sentenced to death; Wang Liang was sentenced to life imprisonment for his role as an informant and surrender.