Overview

• Tokyo District Court imposed a nine-year prison term on former Mitsubishi UFJ Bank employee Yukari Yamasaki, after prosecutors sought 12 years and the defense argued for five.
• According to the indictment, from March 2023 to October 2024 she stole about 26 kilograms of gold worth roughly ¥330 million and around ¥61.45 million in cash from six customers at the Tamagawa and Nerima branches.
• Prosecutors said she abused her role overseeing safe‑deposit boxes to plug large losses from foreign exchange trading and characterized the conduct as a severe breach of customer trust.
• Under questioning, Yamasaki acknowledged stealing a total of roughly ¥1.7–1.8 billion from about 100 customers when uncharged acts are included, and she apologized while citing gambling disorder.
• The case highlights oversight risks for custodial assets, and regulators this year updated guidance so banks exclude cash from safe‑deposit box storage while industry rules were revised accordingly.