At around 1:40AM on May 9, a laundromat was robbed in the city of Iwaki in Fukushima Prefecture.

In this security footage, you can see 3 men dressed all in black with hoods get out of a white vehicle.

Once inside the shop, they head straight for the change machine.

They start breaking the banknote slot with something that looks like a crowbar.

One of the 3 assailants uses a laundry cart to stop the automatic door closing, then proceeds to be watching outside the entrance.

They seem to be a look-out for people coming.

The robbery only took about 3 minutes to commit.

Outside, their vehicle turns around and waits for the assailants.

The group is believed to be made up of at least 4 people.

Nippon TV interviewed the shop manager about the attack.

Shop Manager: This is the multi-purpose change machine that was damaged.

Shop Manager: They divided up the roles, so it looked like they’re experienced and knew what they were doing.

According to the laundromat manager, the cash stolen was approximately ¥100,000, or about $685 USD.

The cost to replace the damaged machine is expected to be around 3 million yen, or about $20,000 USD.

According to Fukushima Prefectural Police, there were at least 5 robberies targeting laundromats in the City of Iwaki between the 8th and 9th this month.

Investigations are underway with a view that the robberies were all committed by the same group of criminals.