Police in Tokyo have arrested eight youths for mugging otaku in Tokyo’s Akihabara district in a practice they referred to as “otaku hunting.”
The teens all targeted junior high school students they referred to as “Akiba-kei,” or geeks who like the otaku culture found widely in retail outlets throughout Akihabara.
Police said there have been 25 reported incidents of “otaku hunting” since the start of the year, with victims losing a combined 350,000 yen between them.
“Otaku are weak and they’ve got money, so we went after them,” one of the arrested youths told the police.
Not only do otaku have plenty of money, they also are easy marks. According to police, otaku often meekly surrender their cash when threatened.
“Otaku are weak and they’ve got money, so we went after them.”
Did you ever notice how Japanese suspects are always so forthcoming in their statements to the police? I can’t get over how many times they just come right out and say exactly what motivated them to commit their crimes.