KYOTO (TR) – Kyoto Prefectural Police have arrested a former head priest and two accomplices for allegedly taking over a 300-year-old Buddhist temple, illegally selling off its real estate, and pocketing over 226 million yen, reports Kansai TV (Oct. 11).
The suspects include Jikyo Osaka, 74, the former head priest of Saiganji temple in central Kyoto; Jikun Suzuki, a 72-year-old unemployed woman from Tokyo; and her son, 42-year-old Fukuoka company executive Hiroya Taguchi.
Arrested last month on suspicion of occupational embezzlement and fraud, the trio is accused of conspiring to sell temple-owned land and buildings to a real estate company without obtaining the required legal approval from the religious corporation’s board.
Roof leaks
The takeover plot began in 2022 when the temple’s 100-year-old main hall developed severe roof leaks. Facing repair costs of up to 50 million yen, Osaka introduced Suzuki — whom he had met at a temple-sponsored event — to the temple’s executive board.
Suzuki pitched a highly suspicious financial scheme, telling the board, “If you invest 10 million yen, I will pay out 6 million yen in dividends.”
While temple representatives instantly recognized Suzuki as a “blatant scammer” whose proposals defied common sense, Osaka became completely captivated by her. Exploiting the priest’s misplaced trust, Suzuki and Taguchi were eventually handed control of the temple’s finances.
Drained funds
Temple representatives claim the mother-son duo then systematically drained approximately 50 million yen in existing temple funds, withdrawing cash in increments of 500,000 to 1 million yen from ATMs in the Kanto region.
“They probably drained 50 million yen. I don’t think a single yen is left,” one temple representative lamented.
Having looted the cash reserves, the trio then set their sights on the temple’s real estate. The land and buildings were generating about 1 million yen a month in rental income—a vital lifeline for the historically significant but financially struggling temple. Following the unauthorized 226-million-yen sale of the property, the temple lost its sole source of steady income, receiving absolutely none of the proceeds.
Predatory outsiders
During police questioning, the suspects partially denied the allegations, pointing fingers at one another.
Suzuki admitted to selling the property without proper procedures but denied conspiring with her son or the priest. Taguchi claimed he believed they had executive consent. Meanwhile, Osaka admitted to the sale but attempted to shift the blame, stating, “It is true the real estate was sold, but Suzuki and Taguchi were the ones advancing it.”
The former priest later conceded to investigators, “Looking back, I should have said we needed to put it to a vote.”
The incident highlights a growing crisis in Japan’s ancient capital, where aging congregations and a lack of successors leave historic temples rich in physical assets but vulnerable to predatory outsiders.
Police are currently investigating the trio for additional crimes as Saiganji’s remaining members struggle to find a path to survival for the gutted temple.
