Skip to content 
Two men have been arrested in Aichi Prefecture for the theft of Yu-Gi-Oh! trading cards valued at around $2,65,234 (38 million yen) from a residence in Higashiura Town, earlier this year.
The suspects have been identified as Ayumu Ezaki (23), who claims to be a store clerk from Mizuho Ward, Nagoya City, and Yoroi Naito (25), an unemployed individual from Nishi Ward, Nagoya City.
According to the police reports, the incident took place in April 2023 when the accused unlawfully entered the residence of a 63-year-old male, who was a company employee, living in Higashiura Town, and stole approximately 33,000 Yu-Gi-Oh trading cards.
The police are yet to disclose any further statements regarding the suspects’ admissions or denials of the crime. They are currently investigating the possibility of someone with inside knowledge of the valuable collection orchestrating it.
The Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game is a Japanese collectible card battle game developed and published by Konami. Based on the Duel Monsters concept from the original manga series, the game sees players using a combination of monsters, spells, and traps to defeat their opponent.
First launched in Japan in 1999, the game has received various changes over the years, such as the inclusion of new monster types to coincide with the release of new anime series. In 2011, Guinness World Records called it the top-selling trading card game in history, with 25.2 billion cards sold worldwide.
As of January 2021, the game is estimated to have sold about 35 billion cards worldwide and grossed over ¥1 trillion ($9.64 billion).
Yu-Gi-Oh! is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Kazuki Takahashi. It was serialized in Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump magazine between September 1996 and March 2004.
The manga was adapted into two anime series; the first anime adaptation was produced by Toei Animation, which aired from April to October 1998, while the second, produced by NAS and animated by Studio Gallop titled Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters, aired between April 2000 and September 2004.
Source: Livedoor News
