KANAGAWA (TR) – Kanagawa Prefectural Police have arrested a 22-year-old female office worker on suspicion of fraud after she allegedly duped a man in his 70s out of roughly 420,000 yen through a dating app romance scam, reports TBS News (July 3).
Kanon Hiroshige, a resident of Yokohama City, is accused of manipulating the elderly widower by sending him affectionate messages, including “I love you,” before tricking him into handing over cash for fictitious university expenses.
Upon her arrest, Hiroshige admitted to the allegations. “I had no plans to take graduate school exams,” she reportedly told investigators.
The victim, whose wife passed away about three years ago, told reporters he initially joined the matchmaking app simply to find a dining companion. The two began communicating in March and met in person for the first time in May.
“She seemed smart”
Hiroshige quickly won the man over with her charm and a fabricated sob story.
“When we met, she seemed smart, said she attended a respected national university, and our conversations were incredibly fun,” the victim said. “She told me her parents had died and left her with 1.5 million yen in debt to a consumer loan company.”
The man became so infatuated that he introduced Hiroshige to two of his friends. Despite their fierce opposition—warning him that the relationship was an “absolute trap”—he ignored their advice.
“By that time, I was already deeply emotionally invested,” he confessed.
Soon after, the financial demands began. Hiroshige allegedly sent messages pleading, “Sorry, is there any way you can send me money in a hurry?” She initially extracted 40,000 yen by claiming she needed to pay a graduate school examination fee, followed by demands for roughly 380,000 yen for “enrollment fees.” The victim transferred the full amount.
“Hard to see through”
Tokyo police believe the deception did not stop there. Investigators suspect that from September onward, Hiroshige told the man she was hospitalized with cancer, fleecing him out of an additional 2 million yen for fake medical bills.
The mounting demands finally raised the man’s suspicions the following April, prompting him to consult the police.
Speaking to the media, the victim said he filed the report to prevent her from targeting others.
“Normally, you can easily spot it when a woman flatters a man just to squeeze money out of him,” the victim lamented. “But with her, it was incredibly hard to see through.”
