Police accused Tomomichi Takizawa, 51, and Akimi Tada, 40, of violating the Trademarks Law over the sale of second-hand items, including t-shirts and shoes, containing logos that infringe upon the copyright of such brands as Gucci and Chanel.
Both suspects admit to the allegations, according to police. “Customers increasingly said they wanted the items, so I sold them,” said Takizawa.
On May 23, police seized 59 such items from a store operated by Takizawa in Ikebukuro and another 276 at an outlet in Harajuku run by Tada.
According to police, the bootleg items were sourced by the suspects in Los Angeles, where such clothing enjoyed immense popularity in the 1980s and 1990s.
Two and a half years ago, Takizawa began selling such items at his shop. At some point thereafter, he began working with Tada. Over the past two years, the pair is believed to have accumulated 1.8 million yen sales, police said.
Takizawa previously appeared on the popular variety program “Kaiun! Nandemo Kanteidan” on TV Tokyo.
