We’ve had stories previously in which shops specialising in trading cards have found themselves the unfortunate victims of robberies, but this one really takes the cake.
As reported by Automaton, a 35-year-old Japanese man was arrested on suspicion of robbery on 9th July 2025 and is alleged to have stolen 123 items at knifepoint worth approximately $94,000 from a Pokémon Trading Card store. The twist? The accused is apparently the owner of his own Pokémon and One Piece-focused trading card shop within the same neighbourhood.
Although the police didn’t disclose such information, the owner of the target store posted a message on X to confirm that the accused is the manager of a competing store. The post concludes by stating that anybody else involved in the crime should “surrender immediately”, asking those who might have information to come forward.
Regarding the robbery incident that occurred at our store on 6/14,
following Sakaguchi and Ando, the manager of the neighboring store Treca Junky @toreca_junky, Yuji Watanabe, has also been arrested as an accomplice in the robbery.Those still involved should surrender immediately.
Thinking you won’t get caught is impossible.We will absolutely catch everyone.
We welcome any information, no matter how small.
The post has since attracted quite a bit of attention, though it remains unclear whether there have been any further developments at this stage.
It’s good that at least some progress is being made to get the whole thing sorted, mind. It’s likely pretty difficult to deduct who might be perpetrating such crimes at the best of times, but when the stolen goods are then sold on immediately in a rival store..? Gosh, that must be rough.