Police suspect 35-year-old Ko Hakata, a former computer software developer who is now unemployed, and Goro Nakahashi, a 27-year-old businessman, robbed the unidentified bank's accounts from a computer at a Tokyo cafe Sept. 18.
The men allegedly downloaded software from the Internet that detects what keys previous users of the computer punched, police said.
They then figured out the passwords that five people had used to access their bank accounts online, and transferred a total of $141,000 from those accounts to another bank, police said. Using an alias, Nakahashi allegedly withdrew $136,000, police said.
Police refused to say when the two men -- who haven't been charged -- were detained. They also would not comment on what happened to the $5,000 that was not withdrawn, saying only $136,000 had been stolen. If charged with theft, they could face up to 10 years in prison.
The Asahi newspaper, a major national daily, said the two men allegedly tried to use about 100 computers at 13 different Internet cafes around Tokyo.
The newspaper cited police sources saying they are thought to have robbed accounts at Citibank Japan. Citibank officials were not immediately available to comment.
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