is a term used for recruitments of civilians for criminal activities in Japan, often promising high pay for an easy job. The recruitments take place in Social media and Employment websites. The Japanese police has warned that people recruited through these methods are forced to provide personal information and are often "disposed after use", and are rarely actually paid.
Recruitment messages for Yami Baito are usually found in social media platforms such as Twitter and Employment websites, promising claims such as high pay, and easy job.[1] [2] The Japanese police warns that these claims are false, and criminal organizations, or Yakuza[3] use people recruited via these methods as disposable pawns.[4] People who are being recruited are usually asked for personal information, such as Identity documents, which are later used for threats of harm when the recruited person refused to cooperate.[5]
People recruited via these methods are usually young or under the age of 18.[6] In 2023, 991 out of 2373 arrested for fraud were recruited from social media, and 763 out of 2373 were recruited by people they know.[7]
Types of illegal jobs in Yami Baito includes drug trafficking,[8] robbery (or driving for robbers),[9] Fraud, and SIM swap scam.[10]
From May 2022 to January 2023, a series of robberies, later named as Luffy robberies occurred using people recruited via social media, with several injured victims and a 90 year old woman killed during one of the robberies.[11]
A series of over 15 robberies, occurred in the Kantō region with 40 recruited people arrested from August 2024, continuing as of November 2024.[12]
A joint investigation headquarters was formed between Chiba, Kanagawa, and Saitama prefectural police forces in October 18, 2024 to prevent the series of Yami Baito robberies in the region.[13]
In October 22, 2024, Shigeru Ishiba expressed willingness to include costs for anti Yami Baito recruitments in the 2025 budget.[14]