The Tokyo District Court sentenced an 18-year-old man to 4? years in prison on Monday for his involvement in a robbery at a luxury watch store that happened in broad daylight in Tokyo＊s Ginza shopping district in May.

The ruling is the first by a court on the case. Prosecutors had sought a seven-year prison term for Shoma Torii, who pleaded guilty.

Presiding Judge Madoka Hiruta ruled that at around 6:20 p.m. on May 8, Torii broke into the Ginza watch shop with two other teenagers while a driver waited outside in a car, stealing 74 items including wrist watches worth nearly ?400 million.

They threatened an employee with knives, shouting ※Lie down§ and ※I will kill you,§ and smashed the showcases before they stole the expensive items.

Hiruta described the robbery as ※an organized and carefully premeditated crime§ as well as ※bold and malicious.§

※Although the defendant was a subordinate who merely followed the instructions of his superiors, he played an important role,§ threatening the employees with a knife and stealing watches, Hiruta said.

Torii has said a friend of his asked if he was interested in a ※high-paying job.§ He was unaware of what he would be asked to do but accepted anyway because he had debts to pay off.

However, Hiruta ruled that the defendant bears serious criminal responsibility, since he went ahead with the heist even after he was informed that it was a robbery, believing that he had no way to escape.

But Torii deserved leniency given that he has apologized to the store, expressed remorse during the trial and offered compensation for the harm caused to the victims at the shop, the ruling said. All stolen items have also been recovered.

※The defendant＊s youth and the influence of his psychological immaturity in the circumstances that led to his involvement are factors that can be considered in his favor,§ the ruling said, adding that during the trial the defendant＊s mother pledged to support his rehabilitation.

The Ginza robbery case was notable in that it was allegedly committed mostly by teenagers acquainted with each other, with the youngest being 16 years old, who was sent to a juvenile detention center.

The fifth alleged accomplice, a 33-year-old man who was the driver waiting outside, was reportedly recruited via a social media posting for yami baito (dark part-time jobs), as he was looking for a risky but high-paying job.

The incident garnered widespread attention at the time because several bystanders took videos and uploaded them to social media, prompting scrutiny of the danger of such part-time jobs.