TOKYO (TR) – As a part of a crackdown on child pornography available via the smartphone, Kanagawa Prefectural Police on Friday arrested two organized crime members, reports TBS News (Feb. 19).
Between June and October of last year, Akira Ishizaka, a 48-year-old member of the Sumiyoshi-kai, and fellow gangster Isao Kobayashi, 56, received a total of 560,000 yen on six occasions as commission payments for submissions of illegal content to the smartphone application Shashin-bako (Photo Box), which allows users to upload video clips and images.
According to police, the money was transferred into a bank account in the name of Kobayashi. Police suspect the money was used as funding for the Sumiyoshi-kai.
Kobayashi admits to receiving the money but claims he did not know it was a criminal act. Ishizaka denies the charges.
In cracking down on Shashin-bako, police have made eight other arrests, including Mitsuaki Ono, 55, the president of Aircast, which operates the application, and Shinichi Akimoto, 40, an elementary school teacher in Osaka who allegedly uploaded images.
