Democratic Party of Japan’s Yasuko Komiyama loses civil suit in lottery ticket scam

On January 12, the Tokyo District Court ruled against Democratic Party of Japan diet member Yasuko Komiyama in a lottery ticket fraud scheme masterminded by her brother, reports Shukan Asahi Geino (Feb. 2).

The ruling requires the 46-year-old lawmaker and the other defendants, including her brother, Kenji Hashimoto, 41, her mother, and lottery ticket sales firm New Lottery Service, to pay 15 million yen and accrued interest over a five-year period to the victim.

In June 2010, Hashimoto, was arrested for allegedly defrauding the 45-year-old plaintiff, a resident of Tokyo, out of 4 million yen in a fictitious transfer of rights to lottery ticket sales booths. Hashimoto is still on trial.

In December 2003, the plaintiff loaned 15 million yen to the New Lottery Service, for which Hashimoto was a managing director. “Komiyama was there and said, ‘Since I am here to act as an overseer there is nothing to worry about,’ the plaintiff said. “She guaranteed the return of the loan in full. She even signed on as a co-signer. With her father (Jushiro Komiyama) being a former posts and telecommunications minister, I trusted her words.” Read more

Nishi Azabu celebrity playpen target of Tokyo police gang probe

Coinciding with the enactment of anti-organized crime legislation last year, Tokyo Metropolitan Police have been focusing multiple investigations on a lavish club in upscale Nishi Azabu frequented by show biz personalities, reports Shukan Post (Feb. 3).

The club is owned by the former president of a real estate company that went bankrupt with liabilities of 10 billion yen. He has been arrested for tax evasion, and the club seized. The Tokyo District Court ruled that the property is to be put up for auction.

“The club as well as the owner’s residence are inside the same　apartment building,” a person involved in the investigation tells the tabloid. “There are nine apartments in the building, and eight are intended for auction. After the ruling, a friend of the owner filed a preliminary claim for ownership of the other unit. So it has become impossible to auction the whole building.”

(Shukan Post does not give the name of the club, but a Google search reveals it to be Geihinkan Nishi Azabu. The owner is Daisuke Shioda, whose former real estate company is called ABC Home.) Read more

Hit-and-run case turns into multiple murders in Chiba

After the body of construction worker Akinori Kuwayama, 21, was discovered on a road in Sakura City, Chiba Prefecture on June 10, Chiba prefectural police believed it to be a simple case of hit and run.

However, reports weekly tabloid Shukan Jitsuwa (Jan. 5), developments from December are pointing to Kuwayama being a victim in a multiple murder case.

According to police, the corpse of Kuwayama was found six kilometers from his home, which is where he is believed to have been killed. Investigators subsequently used evidence found at the scene to determine which car struck him.

The vehicle’s owner is Kiyokazu Akimoto, a 42-year-old male under prosecution over a separate incident that resulted in bodily harm to a woman. Investigators announced on December 8 that they had questioned Akimoto over Kuwayama’s death. “Kuwayama-san jumped in front of me,” he said. “It was unreasonable thinking at the time, but I decided to dump his body in a different location.” Read more

Japan in 2012: Fukushima looms, Sendai nightlife booms

The Great East Japan Earthquake of March 11 left a big scar on the nation in 2011. Yet this year will truly be about recovery, believes Shukan Asahi Geino (Jan. 12) — albeit with the ongoing crisis at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant continuing to be a concern.

Shigeru Aoyama of Japan’s Independent Institute finds the government’s announcement in December that “a state of cold shutdown” had been reached regarding the three damaged reactors at the plant to be ridiculous given that mere cooling had taken place. “Actual recovery will be marked by Environment Minister Goshi Hosono or representatives from the Safety Committee working inside the nuclear plant premises and monitoring the situation,” says Aoyama. “The reality is that it will take a long time to complete real containment.”

What will happen to nuclear plants in the future?

“Japan will continue to utilize nuclear power plants,” Aoyama continues. “It is likely that Japan-made reactors will be used, not the U.S.-made models like at Fukushima. This will be considered a safer way forward. However, I am not sure how this can be explained rationally.” Read more

Popularity of smart phones in Japan fueling scams

Younger generations are finding multi-function smartphones appealing, but using one also increases susceptibility to fraud, reports Shukan Asahi Geino (Dec. 22).

The classic one-click spam from adult-oriented sites are becoming wide spread, says an editor from an IT magazine. “Just as we still remember that there a large number of victims when personal computers and mobile phones became hits,” the source says, “criminals are also taking advantage of the increase in popularity of smart phones.”

The editor says that the major issue is that younger generations are not familiar with one-click spam. “Middle school and high school kids click once and become victims,” says the editor. “In addition to leaking his or her email address, an invoice asking for 50,000 yen will follow. Fearing to be caught by their parents, they just pay.”

Needless to say one should simply discard such spam. It is, however, understandable that these kids become panicked as they have no knowledge of how these scams work. Read more

60-year sentence for serial rapes in Shizuoka possibly a Japan first

On November 30, a most unusual prison sentence of 60 years was handed down by the Numazu branch of the Shizuoka District Court to Takashi Ozawa, who raped and assaulted nine women in Mishima City and other areas over a period of nine years.

Weekly tabloid Shukan Jitsuwa (Dec. 22) sets about determining why such a length was decided for Ozawa, 35, considering a revised law from 2004 limits imprisonment for rape to a maximum of 30 years.

“Prior to the current court case (November), he had been found guilty of theft, in March 2009,” says a reporter specializing in legal affairs. “The timing of that case was such that it created a separation within the time period of the rape crimes. Therefore, he couldn’t be tried as one case.”

Specifically, five cases occurred between 2001 and the date of his conviction for theft; four others cases took place after. The court broke the crimes into two groups and issued a sentence of 60 years in total. Read more

‘Fuzoku bubble’ of ’80s supplied sizzling sex services

As the “bubble economy” of the ’80s started to inflate, the nation’s sex industry rose to the occasion as well, so to speak, reports Shukan Asahi Geino (Nov. 24).

Dubbed the “fuzoku bubble,” the period largely began with the establishment of Monroe Walk in Kyoto in June 1980. It was the first no-pan kissa, or coffee shop in which women do not wear under garments. Other similar establishments opened in Osaka and Tokyo later that same year.

The shops featured topless waitresses in mini-skirts and stockings parading across a reflective flooring with fans to serve coffee for between 1,500 and 2,000 yen. A second boom occurred in 1984, when services were upped to include hand-jobs in private rooms for an additional 2,000 yen. Read more

Japanese television stations also rife with yakuza ties

The resignation of television personality Shinsuke Shimada over the summer put the spotlight on connections between gangsters and the entertainment world, but, warns reports Shukan Post (Nov. 11), the broadcasting stations themselves should be equally nervous about associating with organized crime.

Nationwide legislation passed in October prohibits ordinary citizens from assisting the business activities of criminal organizations, yet television stations, the article says, can be structured whereby certain activities involve yakuza connections.

“I have experience in helping sell tickets to events hosted by TV stations,” says a gang member involved in show business. “A TV station producer will come to an event promoter because he knows on the surface things look clean, but the reality is a connection to the mob. A request will be made to sell half the tickets to an event. That will happen, but with fifty percent of the sales price kept as commission.”

Both benefit from this arrangement, and the relations only get deeper from there. Gangsters connected to entertainment production companies will utilize their resources to ensure that the performers within the company’s talent pool rise to the top to receive a take of the large fees they are able to charge for dinner shows and banquets. Read more

Tokyo times: Guide for dealing with yakuza following enactment of new legislation

With the passing of nationwide legislation in October that prohibits ordinary citizens from having business dealings with criminal organizations, Sapio (Nov. 16) offers tips on what is acceptable and what is prohibited.

For assistance, the weekly magazine has turned to lawyer Hideyuki Takashima for some insights on such queries as: If one unknowingly engages in a contractual agreement with gang members, is that a violation of the law? If gangsters purchase certain items and one offers similar items to regular customers, is that a violation? How far can one take “associating” with criminal organizations before there is a violation?

To summarize, a problem will typically arise when one knowingly assists in promoting the businesses of gangsters.

In the operation of an izakaya, Takashima says that if a few gang members arrive to eat and drink at the counter or at tables with other customers, it is probably allowable. “However, if group, numbering a few dozen, turn up to use a private room, there might be a problem since it looks like a formal meeting,” the lawyer says. “The boundary line is whether one is fostering their activities.” Read more

New law to clamp down on Osaka’s ‘legal herb’ market

The Minami entertainment district of Osaka has seen a serious growth in the sales of drugs designed to fall within a legal gray zone, but law enforcement might get the upper hand with a new law, reports Shukan Asahi Geino (Nov. 3).

“Legal herbs” have documented adverse effects, but there are no laws regulating their possession and utilization, which has putting law enforcement in a difficult position.

“America-mura is known to be an area for drugs,” says a news reporter covering the society beat. “There are 20 clubs situated there, an area smaller than Shibuya, and many often receive illicit drugs, like weed, from foreigners. Pedestrians are approached out of nowhere for possible transactions.”

Dating back approximately one year, shops with signs reading “specializing in legal herbs” began to emerge. Now about 10 can be spotted in one area. With prices in the range of 1,000 to 3,000 yen per gram, most users are teenagers and those in their 20s. Read more

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