I don’t recall ever hearing about today’s feature. On this date in 1968, Japan’s greatest bank robbery occurred. Here’s the story. On that particular morning, there were four employees of Nihon Shintaku Ginko bank who were transporting around 300 million yen to a factory. They were in an unmarked car, and they were traveling to the factory to drop off end-of-the-year bonuses.
They were stopped by a uniformed motorcycle policeman (so they thought) out in front of the Tokyo Fuchu prison. The story they were told was that the bank manager’s house had just been blown up, and there were explosives in the transport car. They believed what had been told since there had been threats made against this bank. The “policeman” checked the car, and suddenly there were smoke and flames (from the road flare he had set off). The bank employees ran for cover, and the “policeman” got into the car and drove away.
Here’s the bizarre part–no arrests were ever made. A suspect (who was later officially absolved of any wrongdoing) killed himself five days after the heist. In 1969, there was a suspect who was arrested, but he had an alibi. The statute of limitations passed in 1975, and as of 1988, the thief has been relieved of any responsibility. He has yet to come forward.
For more information:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/300_million_yen_robbery
http://www.hereishistory.com/here/2011-08-13-yen-robbery/
