This is the shocking moment a gang of masked robbers raided a luxury watch store in famously low-crime Tokyo, Japan.

The assailants broke into the Rolex specialty store 'Quark' in the Ginza district of the capital city before allegedly threatening the staff with knives. Witnesses said the group then destroyed a show cabinet with a crowbar before making off with the items on May 8 at 6 PM.

Footage from worried onlookers who watched from the street as the robbery played out shows the robbers racing out of the store. They were wearing matching black tracksuits before climbing into a white van.

Police later discovered the vehicle abandoned along the street of Akasaka in Minato Ward. They are said to have even driven by the National Police Agency headquarters and the country's parliament in their bungled getaway attempt.

Officers arrested four suspects including the getaway driver shortly after the failed heist. No injuries have been reported from the incident.

Local media reported that the suspects were inexperienced youngsters roped into the attempted robbery by hardened gangsters. The trend in Japan has become known as 'yami-baito' black-market part-time jobs, which is reportedly a way for 'criminal groups to outsource scams and burglaries to the young, naïve and financially desperate'.