TOKYO (TR) – The Tokyo District Court on Tuesday sentenced a 31-year-old former real estate company employee to three years and six months in prison for setting fire to properties in a ruthless attempt to force residents to vacate their homes, reports TV Asahi (Sep. 29).
Hiroki Naito was accused of carrying out modern-day jiage (malicious land sharking and forced eviction) tactics in the Musashikoyama area of Shinagawa Ward last year.
During the trial, Naito admitted to the charges but claimed he was acting under intense duress from his company’s president.
“He implied that my common-law wife would be harmed, so I thought I had no choice but to do it,” Naito told the court.
Refusing to move
Prosecutors revealed that Naito, who was in charge of eviction negotiations, was ordered by his boss to burn down the home of a resident who was refusing to move.
The court heard details of two separate arson attacks. In the first incident, Naito splashed lighter fluid onto the exterior wall of the target’s occupied residence and set it ablaze. In the second, he hired two accomplices to pour gasoline inside a nearby vacant apartment and torch the building.
The fires sent shockwaves through the neighborhood, an area with a retro atmosphere that is currently undergoing rapid redevelopment.
“Dead animals left near homes”
Locals told reporters that suspicious activity had been escalating for years.
“I wondered if it was land sharking,” one neighbor said. “We get asked to sell our land all the time.”
Another resident revealed a pattern of disturbing intimidation tactics leading up to the fires. “There had been talk of evictions for a few years. Rumor has it there was harassment… I heard dead animals were left near homes.”
Residents also reported receiving flyers for fake “urban development” briefings — events the Shinagawa Ward office confirmed it had no knowledge of or involvement in.
The prosecution had sought a term of five years and six months.
In handing down the verdict, the presiding judge acknowledged that Naito was acting under orders, but stressed the severity of his actions.
“Although the defendant was in a subordinate position to the company representative, he played a crucial role in the execution of the crime,” the court stated before handing down the 3.5-year prison term.
