TOKYO -- A teen from the capital's Ota Ward who was arrested on Nov. 20 on suspicion of attempting to rob a "men's aesthetic salon" has told police that he had searched for illegal "dark gigs" online.

The Metropolitan Police Department (MPD)'s Osaki Police Station arrested the 17-year-old, of unknown occupation, on suspicion of conspiring with one or more people and breaking into a salon located in an apartment building in the Nishigotanda district of Shinagawa Ward at around 3 a.m. on Nov. 20. He allegedly threatened a female employee at knifepoint, and demanded money from her. The boy was subdued by a male employee who rushed to the scene after receiving a call from the female worker.

When questioned by police, the boy said he had searched for illegal "dark part-time jobs" on X (formerly Twitter) about two weeks prior. The MPD is investigating potential connections to a string of robberies that has been occurring in the greater Tokyo area.

According to the MPD, the highly secure messaging app Signal was downloaded on the teen's smartphone. He apparently told police that he "was instructed to install Signal by the leader." It is believed that there were other individuals involved in the attempted robbery.

(Japanese original by Shotaro Kinoshita, Tokyo City News Department)