Also known as the 300 million yen affair or incident, the 300 million yen robbery was the biggest heist in Japanese history. Occurring on the morning of December 10, 1968 in Tokyo, Japan, as of 2006 it remains unsolved. The written history of Japan began with brief appearances in Chinese history texts from the first century CE. However, archaeological research indicates that people were living on the islands of Japan as early as the upper paleolithic period. ... December 10 is the 344th day (345th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1968 calendar). ... Tokyo , literally Eastern capital)   is the capital and one of the forty-seven prefectures of Japan. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The Robbery

On the morning of December 10, 1968, four Kokubunji branch employees of the of Nihon Shintaku Ginko (bank) transported 294,307,500 yen in the trunk of a company car. The metal boxes contained bonuses for the employees of Toshiba's Fuchu factory. They were stopped in the street next to Tokyo Fuchu prison by a young uniformed officer on a police motorcycle. The policeman informed them that their branch manager's house had been blown up, and they had received a warning that dynamite had been planted in the transport car. The four employees exited the vehicle while the officer crawled under the car to locate the bomb. Moments later, the employees noticed smoke and flames under the car as the officer rolled out, shouting that it was about to explode. When the employees retreated to the prison walls, the policeman got into the car and drove away. Kokubunji (国分寺市; -shi) is a city in Tokyo, Japan. ... The First Provincial Bank of Taiwan in Taipei, Republic of China was formerly the central bank of the Republic of China and issued the New Taiwan dollar. ... Toshiba Corporations headquarters in Hamamatsucho, Tokyo Toshiba Corporation sales by division for year ending March, 31 2005 Toshiba Corporation ) (TYO: 6502 ) is a Japanese high technology electrical and electronics manufacturing firm, headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. ... FuchÅ« (府中市 -shi) is a city in Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. ... A factory (previously manufactory) or manufacturing plant is a large industrial building where workers manufacture goods or supervise machines processing one product into another. ... Dynamite is an explosive based on the explosive potential of nitroglycerin using diatomaceous earth (Kieselguhr) as an adsorbent. ...

The Aftermath

The bank employees had believed the thief was a policeman, and had accepted his story about the bomb as he had sent threatening letters to the bank manager beforehand. The smoke and flames turned out to be the result of a warning flare he had ignited while under the car. At some point, the thief abandoned the bank's car and transferred the metal boxes to another car, stolen beforehand. That car too was abandoned, and the boxes transferred once again to another previously stolen vehicle. Look up Flare in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

120 pieces of evidence were left at the scene of the crime, including the "police" motorcycle, which had been painted white. However, the evidence was primarily common everyday items, scattered on purpose to confuse the police investigation. Evidence has several meanings as indicated below. ...

A massive police investigation was launched, posting 780,000 montage pictures throughout Japan. The list of suspects included 110,000 names, and 170,000 policemen participated in the investigation — the largest investigation in Japanese history. However, the 7-year investigation offered few answers, and in December 1975, the statute of limitations on the crime passed without an arrest. By 1988, the thief was also relieved of any civil liabilities, allowing him to tell his story without fear of legal repercussions, and enable him to profit from the crime a second time. He has yet to come forward. 1975 (MCMLXXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday. ... A statute of limitations is a statute in a common law legal system setting forth the maximum period of time, after certain events, that legal proceedings based on those events may begin. ... 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... In the most general sense, a liability is anything that is a hindrance, or puts one at a disadvantage. ... This article is about law in society. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

Popular Culture

A number of books and films have been made about the case.

In the 2006 film Hatsukoi, starring Aoi Miyazaki, writer Misuzu Nakahara's fictitious "autobiography" tells of her involvement in the famous crime while she was a high school student. Aoi Miyazaki Aoi Miyazaki (宮崎あおい Miyazaki Aoi; born 30 November 1985 in Tokyo, Japan) is a Japanese actress. ... The Three Graces, here in a painting by Sandro Botticelli, were the goddesses of charm, beauty, nature, human creativity and fertility in Greek mythology. ... Cover of An autobiography, from the Greek auton, self, bios, life and graphein, write, is a biography written by the subject or composed conjointly with a collaborative writer (styled as told to or with). The term dates from the late eighteenth century, but the form is much older. ... High school - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ...

References

• "The Man who Stole 300 Million yen without Harming Anybody", Hiragana Times. Retrieved on 2006-09-23.
• Kamiyama, Masuo. "MEDIA WATCH: Weeklies spar over crime of the century", Asia Times, 1999-02-02. Retrieved on 2006-09-23.