KYOTO (TR) – Kyoto Prefectural Police have arrested a former head priest and two accomplices for allegedly taking on a 300-year-old Buddhist temple, illegally promoting off its actual property, and pocketing over 226 million yen, reviews Kansai TV (Oct. 11).
The suspects embrace Jikyo Osaka, 74, the previous head priest of Saiganji temple in central Kyoto; Jikun Suzuki, a 72-year-old unemployed lady from Tokyo; and her son, 42-year-old Fukuoka firm government Hiroya Taguchi.
Arrested final month on suspicion of occupational embezzlement and fraud, the trio is accused of conspiring to promote temple-owned land and buildings to an actual property firm with out acquiring the required authorized approval from the spiritual company’s board.
Roof leaks
The takeover plot started in 2022 when the temple’s 100-year-old fundamental corridor developed extreme roof leaks. Facing restore prices of as much as 50 million yen, Osaka launched Suzuki — whom he had met at a temple-sponsored occasion — to the temple’s government board.
Suzuki pitched a extremely suspicious monetary scheme, telling the board, “If you invest 10 million yen, I will pay out 6 million yen in dividends.”
While temple representatives immediately acknowledged Suzuki as a “blatant scammer” whose proposals defied frequent sense, Osaka turned fully captivated by her. Exploiting the priest’s misplaced belief, Suzuki and Taguchi have been ultimately handed management of the temple’s funds.
Drained funds
Temple representatives declare the mother-son duo then systematically drained roughly 50 million yen in current temple funds, withdrawing money in increments of 500,000 to 1 million yen from ATMs within the Kanto area.
“They probably drained 50 million yen. I don’t think a single yen is left,” one temple consultant lamented.
Having looted the money reserves, the trio then set their sights on the temple’s actual property. The land and buildings have been producing about 1 million yen a month in rental revenue—an important lifeline for the traditionally important however financially struggling temple. Following the unauthorized 226-million-yen sale of the property, the temple misplaced its sole supply of regular revenue, receiving completely not one of the proceeds.
Predatory outsiders
During police questioning, the suspects partially denied the allegations, pointing fingers at each other.
Suzuki admitted to promoting the property with out correct procedures however denied conspiring together with her son or the priest. Taguchi claimed he believed that they had government consent. Meanwhile, Osaka admitted to the sale however tried to shift the blame, stating, “It is true the real estate was sold, but Suzuki and Taguchi were the ones advancing it.”
The former priest later conceded to investigators, “Looking back, I should have said we needed to put it to a vote.”
The incident highlights a rising disaster in Japan’s historical capital, the place growing older congregations and an absence of successors go away historic temples wealthy in bodily belongings however susceptible to predatory outsiders.
Police are at the moment investigating the trio for added crimes as Saiganji’s remaining members battle to discover a path to survival for the gutted temple.