TOKYO (TR) – Tokyo Metropolitan police have arrested three men, including a 66-year-old currently serving prison time, for allegedly brokering illegal organ transplants in Cambodia for profit, reports the Yomiuri Shimbun (July 7).
The arrests mark Japan’s first-ever crackdown on paid mediation for overseas organ transplants since the Organ Transplant Law took effect in October 1997.
Hiromichi Kikuchi and two accomplices were arrested Thursday on suspicion of violating the law by engaging in for-profit organ trafficking. Police believe Kikuchi was the mastermind behind the Tokyo-based International Medical Consultation Office, an incorporated association used to recruit desperate patients online.
Illicit surgery
Kikuchi is no stranger to illicit medical schemes. In February 2023, he was arrested for brokering unauthorized transplants in Belarus while heading the Association for Patients of Intractable Diseases, a now-defunct NPO. He was subsequently handed an eight-month prison term and was serving his sentence when he was rearrested.
According to investigators, Kikuchi’s group instructed a Tokyo man to transfer approximately 12.3 million yen before traveling abroad. The funds included 3 million yen in “administrative fees” sent to the consultation office and 9.3 million yen labeled as a “surgeon’s reward” wired directly into Kikuchi’s personal account.
In Cambodia, the patient received a kidney from an unidentified female live donor. The illicit surgery was performed by a Chinese doctor and facilitated by a Chinese coordinator alongside Kikuchi’s staff.
The patient reportedly handed over an additional 24 million yen directly to the medical team upon arrival to cover local transplant costs. Meanwhile, police discovered that a portion of the initial 12.3 million yen wired to Kikuchi was pocketed and spent on expenses completely unrelated to the surgery.
Out on bail
In a brazen move, Kikuchi reportedly established the new consultation office while out on bail during his previous trial. The group’s website falsely assured prospective patients, “We respect the Organ Transplant Law and maintain a support system free from illegal activities,” while simultaneously attempting to normalize the practice by claiming overseas transplants are “routinely performed.”
Police launched their investigation in May of last year, questioning former patients and raiding the consultation office in April.
The Organ Transplant Law strictly prohibits accepting financial compensation in exchange for providing or brokering organs. Violators face up to five years in prison or a fine of 5 million yen.
Authorities are now turning their attention to the Tokyo man who received the kidney, investigating him on suspicion of paying for an organ in violation of the law.
