23-Year Sentence Sought for Senior Member of "Luffy" Crime Ring

   Tokyo, July 15 (Jiji Press)--Japanese public prosecutors on Tuesday sought a 23-year prison term for Tomonobu Kojima, a senior member of a Philippines-based Japanese crime ring that allegedly masterminded a series of robbery and fraud cases across wide areas of Japan.
   In their closing argument in a lay-judge trial at Tokyo District Court, the prosecutors said that the cases in which Kojima, 47, was involved by recruiting perpetrators served as the origin of a series of "tokuryu" crimes committed by loosely organized groups of anonymous members.
   "The cases have led to many copycat crimes, and the defendant should be punished severely," the prosecutors stressed.
   The defense said that 11 years in prison would be appropriate for Kojima. The court is scheduled to hand down a ruling on July 23.
   At the first hearing of his trial on July 1, Kojima, who belonged to the group whose members called themselves "Luffy," pleaded guilty to all charges that he faced, including aiding robberies resulting in injury and committing fraud.

(2025/07/15-14:59)

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