Trading cards have recently soared in popularity, from sports cards toYu-Gi-Oh!cards, but arguably the most popular trading card franchise as the moment seems to bePokemon. Of course, there’s quite a lot of value to be found in thePokemon Trading Card Game’s older cards, as many YouTubers, streamers, and other online personalities discovered last year. But now, newPokemoncards seem to be just as popular as the old ones.
Due to the surge in popularity,Pokemoncards have begun to fly off both store shelves and online inventories within minutes of restocks, as many have taken the opportunity toscalp the cards to resellat a much higher price. It has become clear that people will go to great lengths and pay high prices to obtain trading cards, but now, one man has conducted a literal heist in an attempt to get his hands on somePokemoncards.
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Reportedly, on March 23 at 5 AM, a 28-year-old Japanese man broke into a trading card store located in Tokyo’s Higashi-Ikebukuro district by using a rope to descend from rooftop six-stories high down into the top floor of the card store, making out with ¥1 million, or around $9,100 USD worth of bothPokemonandYu-Gi-Oh!cards.Additionally, the Tokyo resident also managed to nab ¥260,000 (or approximately $2,370 USD) in cash from an in-store office.
Now identified as Kensuke Nakanishi, the man was arrested by the Metropolitan Police Department on suspicions of theft and trespassing as announced this morning. Nakanishi admitted to the crime, saying that he did it to “pay off a debt.” Police reported that Nakanishi fastened a rope to the railing on top of the building and climbed down about only 16 feet to break into the store through a window after using a tool to get it open. Police reported that Nakanishi was not wearing a lifeline when performing the break-in, as Nakanishi said, “I was in the rock climbing club in high school, so I wasn’t afraid of heights.”
Prior to his arrest, security cameras caught footage of Nakanishi breaking into the trading card store, and was subsequently identified as a possible suspect. Just last month, a Japanese man was arrested for illegally producing andselling hacked Pokemonin thePokemon SwordandShieldgames to individuals at incredibly high prices.
Recently, in celebration ofPokemon’s 25th anniversary, The Pokemon Company collaborated with McDonald’s to bring fans specialPokemon-themed Happy Meals containing commemorative packs ofPokemoncards. The Happy Meals were immediately scalped, causingMcDonald’s to issue a statementon the situation as prices of the promotional cards skyrocketed.
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