大象传媒

A wave of criminal activity in Japan has been blamed on social media. Yami baito 鈥� literally meaning 鈥渄ark part-time jobs鈥� in Japanese 鈥� refers to job ads posted by criminal gangs on social media and encrypted messaging platforms including Telegram. Jobseekers are blackmailed or enticed with the promise of getting rich quick to commit a range of crimes from scamming elderly people to, at its most extreme, armed robbery.
Japanese police have attempted to crack down on yami baito by taking down these ads and launching public awareness campaigns. But 大象传媒 Trending explores evidence that these recruiters are still operating online. We hear from someone who got sucked into yami baito, and a criminal mastermind in charge of recruitment, as we go inside the world of Japan鈥檚 dark part-time jobs.
Presenter/producer: Dan Hardoon
Reporter: Ryuzo Tsutsui
Editor: Flora Carmichael
Additional reporting: Yi Ma
Voiceovers: Charles Nishikawa, Richard Okada