Eight boys held in 'otaku' shakedowns

Eight boys have been arrested for allegedly mugging or attempting to extort money from people on the streets of Tokyo's Akihabara electronics district, police said Thursday.

The boys, ranging in age from 14 to 18, told police they targeted "otaku" (geeks devoted to animation, comics and video games) who often come to the area for shopping -- because the youths regarded their victims as having money and being powerless, according to police.

The eight are specifically suspected of surrounding and threatening to assault a 22-year-old man, a part-time toy store worker, on a street in the district on the evening of Aug. 30 and demanding money.

They allegedly operated in three separate groups.