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Tokyo cops break up Chinese ‘sex visa’ scam, arrest 4

Hideki Haga
Hideki Haga (TV Asahi)

TOKYO (TR) – Tokyo Metropolitan Police on Friday announced the bust of a fake marriage involving a Chinese national seeking permanent residence in Japan, reports the Sankei Shimbun (January 24).

Officers arrested mahjong parlor manager Hideki Haga, 40, for arranging a fake marriage between Hiroyuki Takahashi, a 30-year-old former employee at the same parlor, and a 22-year-old Chinese masseuse working at an erotic massage establishment in the same building, which is located in the Oi district of Shinagawa Ward.

Officers also arrested Takahashi, the masseuse and one other suspect. The four suspects have been charge with entering false information in an officially authenticated electromagnetic record. The fabricated document was filed at the Nerima Ward office in December of 2012.

Haga, who introduced Takahashi to the masseuse, allegedly advised that the couple ensure that clothes and personal belongings from both parties be kept at a home to ensure that the ruse was believable.

According to police, Haga and Takahashi received a total of two million yen from the suspect.

The masseuse reportedly denies the charges, while the other three suspects admit involvement. “I have a boyfriend in China,” the masseuse is quoted by police. “I wanted to get permanent residency and invite him here.”

The suspect added that by marrying a Japanese spouse she could maintain employment in the sex trade, known by the term fuzoku. “By getting a ‘fuzoku visa’ I would be able to continue working,” she is quoted by police.