They cut the plastic ropes. Before long, they told the people sitting on the floor to stand up and then sat on chairs. Some people, especially the elderly and children, had difficulty standing because their hands had been tied. 

The armed gang members had to assist and direct the hostages to sit on chairs. After that, those armed gang members tied the legs and bodies of the hostages to their chairs so that the hostages could not move at all. The armed mob went even further. They tied the chairs to the table in front of them.

Akimasa could only speculate about those people's plans. Those small plastic-wrapped items were most likely bombs. Objects such as digital clocks that function as timers to set when the bomb would explode. One of the group members then ordered Akimasa to sit on a chair in the center of the table.

While trying to tie up Akimasa, one of the gang members felt something in Akimasa's shirt pocket. He reached into Akimasa's pocket and took out a stun gun and a bottle of pepper spray that Akimasa had taken from his bag.