logo
#

Latest news with #SaitamaPrefecturalPolice

Saitama police find tens of millions of yen at residence of family of ex-Aum leader Shoko Asahara
Saitama police find tens of millions of yen at residence of family of ex-Aum leader Shoko Asahara

Tokyo Reported

time5 days ago

  • Tokyo Reported

Saitama police find tens of millions of yen at residence of family of ex-Aum leader Shoko Asahara

SAITAMA (TR) – Saitama Prefectural Police said this week that they found tens of millions of yen in cash at the residence of the wife and second son of former Aum Shinrikyo cult leader Shoko Asahara during a search earlier this year, reports Jiji Press (July 15). In 2018, the justice ministry executed Asahara — born under the name Chizuo Matsumoto — while he was on death row for the carrying out of the deadly sarin gas attack on Tokyo's subway system in 1995. For decades, authorities have monitored successor groups to Aum. According to the Public Security Intelligence Agency and other related parties, the wife and second son do not belong to Aleph, which is one of the cult's successor groups. However, it is believed that the group is trying to make the second son the successor to Matsumoto as the guru of the group. Public security authorities are on high alert in tracking the second son's movements. They are also interested in the financial support his widow is receiving, which makes the source of the cash critical. In 2018, the justice ministry executed Asahara while he was on death row for the carrying out of the deadly sarin gas attack on Tokyo's subway system in 1995 Supporting the wife's lifestyle According to an investigator, the Public Security Agency attempted to conduct an on-site inspection of the apartment in Koshigaya City in March under the Organization Control Act. However, Matsumoto's widow did not comply. After receiving a complaint from the Public Security Agency, the prefectural police instead conducted a search in mid-April on suspicion of violating the Group Control Law. During that search, they found several tens of millions of yen in cash stored in various compartments inside. Since deciding on surveillance measures for Aum-related parties in 2000, the Public Security Agency has conducted approximately 600 on-site inspections of three successor groups, including Aleph. However, the residence of Matsumoto's widow and second son is not a typical target. According to the agency, it has been revealed that Aleph paid Matsumoto's widow approximately 400,000 yen per month from 2002 to 2006 as royalties for the use of paintings she had done. As well, the funding is believed to have continued beyond 2006, which led public security authorities to believe that Aleph may be effectively supporting her lifestyle. The agency also says that Matsumoto named his second son as one of his successors while he was alive. As well, it appears that Aleph is trying to make him the leader of the group. For this reason, they suspect that the group is providing financial support to the family. Rejoin the cult Since 2013, Matsumoto's widow has tried to have her second son join Aleph, but her third daughter and others have opposed this, which has led to internal conflicts within the group's leadership. Around 2015, some of its followers split off and became known as the Yamada Group. The Supreme Court has ordered Aleph to pay approximately 1.025 billion yen in compensation to victims of a series of crimes committed by the cult, including the aforementioned sarin gas attack, but the group has not complied. In accordance with the Organization Control Act, Aleph reported assets to the government of approximately 1.3 billion yen in 2019. However, the figure was only approximately 61 million yen as reported in February 2025.

Man dressed suspiciously warm for Japanese summer chased by helicopter and arrested for fraud
Man dressed suspiciously warm for Japanese summer chased by helicopter and arrested for fraud

Japan Today

time22-06-2025

  • Japan Today

Man dressed suspiciously warm for Japanese summer chased by helicopter and arrested for fraud

By SoraNews24 Just like every year, the past week or so has been as if someone flipped a switch from non-stop rain to relentless heat and summer is suddenly underway in Japan. They say this period of mid-rainy season heat is the worst for our health since the lingering humidity makes it harder for our bodies to properly expel the heat through sweating. Whether that's true or not doesn't change the fact that the past few days have been a muggy mess in much of Japan and people are doing whatever they can to avoid heat stroke. That is, everyone except one man, apparently, who was spotted by the Saitama Prefectural Police in Kuki City on June 17. That morning the temperature was quickly rising but an officer patrolling the area found it odd that a man in front of Kuki Station was wearing a long-sleeved shirt and vest without even rolling up his sleeves to get a modicum of relief. Finding that suspicious, the officer decided to ask him some questions. However, the young man refused to answer any questions and tried to walk away but the officer followed him. The man then got into a taxi, changed to a train, and got on a shinkansen bullet train for Nagoya to get away from the officer but by this time several other members of the Saitama Prefectural Police got involved, including a helicopter that was dispatched to follow him. Meanwhile, back at headquarters, police were checking surveillance footage to see where he had been prior to Kuki Station and cross-referenced it with other investigations. They found that he had used someone else's bank card that he acquired illegally to withdraw 500,000 yen from an ATM at a convenience store in Kuki City that same morning. With that evidence in hand, an officer who was also aboard the bullet train arrested 27-year-old Sho Hara on the spot for his involvement in special fraud. Hara is denying the charges and told police, 'I know nothing.' Some readers of the news expressed amazement in comments that the officer was able to spot a criminal so well, while others took offense that wearing long sleeves in hot weather was considered suspicious behavior. 'Amazing instincts, lol!' 'They say you should wear long sleeves to keep the sun off your skin.' 'The officer has a detective's intuition.' 'But I wear long sleeves in the summer.' 'Maybe he was hiding tattoos.' 'What kind of world do we live in where a guy can't even wear long sleeves in the summer?' 'That cop deserves a huge bonus.' 'A nice Montbell Wickron is actually cooler than short sleeves in the sun.' 'He was probably just a bagman though. They still need to find the people behind it.' 'He probably has 'FRAUD MULE' tattooed on his arm.' 'I'm sure it wasn't just the long sleeves. He was probably acting strange too.' Indeed, it probably wasn't just the fact that he had long sleeves but how he was wearing them. A habitual long-sleeve wearer would do so with a certain aplomb, but this guy probably looked particularly uncomfortable as he was but made no effort to change his appearance. As we've seen before, police have learned to look out for people who look uncomfortable in their own clothing, as bagmen for fraud schemes are often given clothing at the last minute in order to impersonate a lawyer, police detective, CEO, etc. Sometimes these clothes are the wrong size or simply don't match the wearer's sensibilities, which is a guarantee that an officer will want to ask you what you're doing. Source: NTV News, Itai News Read more stories from SoraNews24. -- Real fashion police: Con man arrested in Tokyo, police tipped off by ill-fitting suit -- Police Reported of Suspicious Person Fitting the Description of Police -- Pensioner pretends to be deceived by telephone fraud, helps catch criminals External Link © SoraNews24

Man dressed suspiciously warm for Japanese summer chased by helicopter and arrested for fraud
Man dressed suspiciously warm for Japanese summer chased by helicopter and arrested for fraud

SoraNews24

time20-06-2025

  • SoraNews24

Man dressed suspiciously warm for Japanese summer chased by helicopter and arrested for fraud

He was drawing too much heat. Just like every year, the past week or so has been as if someone flipped a switch from non-stop rain to relentless heat and summer is suddenly underway in Japan. They say this period of mid-rainy season heat is the worst for our health since the lingering humidity makes it harder for our bodies to properly expel the heat through sweating. ▼ The other summer months are hardly a picnic either though. Whether that's true or not doesn't change the fact that the past few days have been a muggy mess in much of Japan and people are doing whatever they can to avoid heat stroke. That is, everyone except one man, apparently, who was spotted by the Saitama Prefectural Police in Kuki City on 17 June. That morning the temperature was quickly rising but an officer patrolling the area found it odd that a man in front of Kuki Station was wearing a long-sleeved shirt and vest without even rolling up his sleeves to get a modicum of relief. Finding that suspicious, the officer decided to ask him some questions. However, the young man refused to answer any questions and tried to walk away but the officer followed him. The man then got into a taxi, changed to a train, and got on a Shinkansen bullet train for Nagoya to get away from the officer but by this time several other members of the Saitama Prefectural Police got involved, including a helicopter that was dispatched to follow him. Meanwhile, back at headquarters, police were checking surveillance footage to see where he had been prior to Kuki Station and cross-referenced it with other investigations. They found that he had used someone else's bank card that he acquired illegally to withdraw 500,000 yen (US$344) from an ATM at a convenience store in Kuki City that same morning. With that evidence in hand, an officer who was also aboard the bullet train arrested 27-year-old Sho Hara on the spot for his involvement in special fraud. Hara is denying the charges and told police, 'I know nothing.' Some readers of the news expressed amazement in comments that the officer was able to spot a criminal so well, while others took offense that wearing long sleeves in hot weather was considered suspicious behavior. 'Amazing instincts, lol!' 'They say you should wear long sleeves to keep the sun off your skin.' 'The officer has a detective's intuition.' 'But I wear long sleeves in the summer.' 'Maybe he was hiding tattoos.' 'What kind of world do we live in where a guy can't even wear long sleeves in the summer?' 'That cop deserves a huge bonus.' 'A nice Montbell Wickron is actually cooler than short sleeves in the sun.' 'He was probably just a bagman though. They still need to find the people behind it.' 'He probably has 'FRAUD MULE' tattooed on his arm.' 'I'm sure it wasn't just the long sleeves. He was probably acting strange too.' Indeed, it probably wasn't just the fact that he had long sleeves but how he was wearing them. As the police taught our reporter Mr. Sato when he was questioned by them for being suspicious several times, it's not a single behavior but a combination of them that sets off a cop's radar. A habitual long-sleeve wearer would do so with a certain aplomb, but this guy probably looked particularly uncomfortable as he was but made no effort to change his appearance. ▼ Here's a guy who knows how to pull off long sleeves in summer. As we've seen before, police have learned to look out for people who look uncomfortable in their own clothing, as bagmen for fraud schemes are often given clothing at the last minute in order to impersonate a lawyer, police detective, CEO, etc. Sometimes these clothes are the wrong size or simply don't match the wearer's sensibilities, which is a guarantee that an officer will want to ask you what you're doing. This attention to detail and the fact that they more or less recreated the final scene of Mission: Impossible to catch this guy, show that police in Saitama are not playing around when it comes to special fraud. Source: NTV News, Itai News Featured image: Pakutaso Insert images: ©SoraNews24 ● Want to hear about SoraNews24's latest articles as soon as they're published? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!

Indian man in Japan arrested on charges of using curry spices as weapon in robbery attempt
Indian man in Japan arrested on charges of using curry spices as weapon in robbery attempt

SoraNews24

time11-06-2025

  • SoraNews24

Indian man in Japan arrested on charges of using curry spices as weapon in robbery attempt

Spicy tactics used in attempted theft of over 7 million yen, police say. In many societies, food is one of the fist touchpoints people have with foreign cultures, and so in Japan mentions of India will almost always bring to mind thoughts of curry and other aromatic examples of Indian cuisine. So it's both startling, and yet also sort of within imagination, that an Indian resident of Japan has been arrested on assault charges in which the weapon used was cooking spices. At around 3:20 in the afternoon on March 14, a 52-year-old Japanese man was walking on the street in the town of Yoshikawa, Saitama Prefecture, when he was approached by a group of four Indian and Nepalese men who, according to the Saitama Prefectural Police, attempted to steal the business bag he was carrying. Rather than brandish a knife, baseball bat, or any other of the melee weapons used by criminals in firearms-strict Japan, the attackers instead smeared powdered cooking spices 'of the sort used in curry' according to reports, on the man's face and into his eyes, in an attempt to blind and incapacitate him. The victim was able to fight back, though, hanging on to his bag and yelling loudly until the attacker gave up and fled the scene. It was a pretty brazen plan, but the would-be robbers apparently had reason to think this could be a very big score for them. The man they attacked is the president of dispatch worker staffing services company, which one of the attackers, a 31-year-old Indian man who lives in Ibaraki Prefecture, was an employee of at the time. On that day, the president was in Yoshikawa to make salary payments to workers dispatched by his company, and apparently makes such payments in cash, and so had roughly 7.8 million yen (US$54,000) in cash in his bag. Investigators believe the attackers knew the man would have a substantial amount of money on him while he was in Yoshikawa, which is why they decided to make their move in the middle of the afternoon. The victim was taken to the hospital where he received medical treatment for conjunctiva (inflammation of the eyes), but does not appear to have suffered permanent vision damage in the attack. The Saitama Prefectural Police, using security camera footage, have identified and arrested the four men they believe were involved in the attack on charges of assault and attempted robbery. Sources: Yomiuri Shimbun via Livedoor News via Jin, NHK News Web, Sankei Shimbun via Hachima Kiko Top image ©SoraNews24 ● Want to hear about SoraNews24's latest articles as soon as they're published? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!

Indian and Nepalese suspects smeared spice powder on face of company president during robbery
Indian and Nepalese suspects smeared spice powder on face of company president during robbery

Tokyo Reported

time11-06-2025

  • Tokyo Reported

Indian and Nepalese suspects smeared spice powder on face of company president during robbery

SAITAMA (TR) – Saitama Prefectural Police have arrested four Indian and Nepalese suspects for allegedly smearing spice powder in the face of a company president during a robbery earlier this year, reports the Sankei Shimbun (June 9). At around 3:20 p.m. on March 14, Aman Sharma, a 31-year-old Indian national, and three accomplices allegedly smeared something like spice powder on the face of the 52-year-old male president of a staffing company as he walked along a city road in Yoshikawa City. They then tried to steal his bag containing about 7.8 million yen in cash. The president suffered inflammation to his eyes in the incident. The injury took two weeks to heal, police said. Police have not revealed whether any of the suspects admit to allegations of robbery and assault. However, the four suspects reportedly suggested they were all 'short of money' at the time of the incident, reports TV Asahi (June 10). Aman Sharma (X) On the day of the incident, the president was on his way to deliver wages to employees in Yoshikawa. Sharma and three other suspects were lying in wait for him. Wearing masks and black rubber gloves, the perpetrators approached him from behind and smeared the spice powder into his eyes. After the company president called for help, the perpetrators fled the scene empty-handed. They surfaced as persons of interest in the case after an examination of security camera footage. Sharma had worked at the staffing company on a contract basis. Police believe they suspects committed the crime because Sharma knew that the day of the incident was payday.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store