TOKYO (TR) – Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested a former member of a criminal organization over the alleged attempt to extort a YouTuber in Shibuya Ward, reports TBS News (Sept. 9).
In June, Mototaka Sakurai, 48, a former member of the Yamaguchi-gumi, intentionally bumped into a tripod belonging to the YouTuber, a male high school student, as he filmed at Hachiko Square in front of JR Shibuya Station.
“Since I hit your tripod and got hurt, it’ll cost you 50,000 yen,” Sakurai reportedly said. “However, if I wind up in the hospital it might be 200,000 or 300,000 yen.”
According to police, Sakurai was intoxicated at the time of the incident.
“I might have warned [him] loudly, but I did not ask for money,” Sakurai was quoted in denying the allegations. “I was the victim.”