KAGOSHIMA, Jan 28 (News On Japan) –
A person sporting a black hood emerged from a police station on January twenty seventh, recognized as Hiroaki Obata, 40, chairman of Japan’s largest scout group, “Natural,” who had been on the run for practically a yr earlier than being arrested on January twenty sixth on Amami Oshima Island in Kagoshima Prefecture, in response to police.
The Metropolitan Police Department stated Obata’s seize introduced a swift finish to a five-day nationwide manhunt launched after authorities made him a needed fugitive on January twenty first, following his disappearance forward of a deliberate raid in January 2025, with investigators believing he repeatedly modified places whereas disguised.
“Natural,” led by Obata, is believed to have had round 1,500 members and to have generated greater than 4.4 billion yen in unlawful earnings by introducing ladies to grownup leisure institutions and gathering referral charges referred to as “scout backs,” a follow that led police to categorise the group as an nameless, fluid crime group referred to as “tokuryu.”
Obata is suspected of getting paid 600,000 yen in safety cash to a yakuza member in July 2023 to conduct scouting actions in leisure districts, and when police tried to conduct obligatory searches associated to the group in January 2025, he fled simply beforehand.
Police stated that through the 5 days following the general public launch of his needed discover, about 30 suggestions had been obtained, with reported sightings in Saitama Prefecture, the Kansai area, and Kyushu, earlier than an nameless report on January twenty third steered an individual resembling Obata was within the Amami space.
Ten investigators had been dispatched to Amami Oshima the identical day, and on the evening of January twenty sixth they positioned and arrested Obata after recognizing him getting into a comfort retailer, the place he was sporting black-framed glasses, had grown his hair by about three centimeters, and sported a beard, disguising his look from official pictures.
Police imagine Obata used aliases corresponding to “Kiyama” and “Nishida” whereas on the run, and confirmed {that a} resort on Amami Oshima had a reservation underneath his identify from January twenty first by means of February third.
Obata departed Amami Airport for Tokyo with investigators on the afternoon of January twenty seventh, and in response to police, he instructed investigators, “I will not say anything about this matter right now,” denying the allegations, because the Metropolitan Police Department continues efforts to dismantle the group and uncover the total scope of its operations.
Source: FNN