News On Japan

Prosecutors raid Moritomo over fraud

Jun 20, 2017 (NHK) - Prosecutors in western Japan have begun raiding the premises of school operator Moritomo Gakuen on suspicion it unlawfully claimed subsidies from the state and the Osaka prefectural government.

On-site investigations took place on a kindergarten operated by Moritomo on Monday.

The Osaka prefectural government earlier sued the former President of Moritomo Gakuen, Yasunori Kagoike, for fraud.

Prosecutors are likely to question Kagoike and others to find out whether he is criminally liable.

Prefectural officials have learned that Moritomo received about 550,000 dollars in subsidies over a period of 6 years ending in March 2017 by padding the number of students with disabilities and teachers.

Osaka prosecutors have also accepted a criminal complaint accusing Moritomo of illegally obtaining more than 500,000 dollars from the state to build a new elementary school.

Moritomo had planned to open the elementary school on former state-owned land in Osaka's Toyonaka city.

Its purchase of land, however, was called into question after a regional bureau of the Finance Ministry was found to have sold the plot significantly cheaper than its appraisal value.

Source: ANNnewsCH

News On Japan
POPULAR NEWS

Bear attacks and sightings are increasing across Japan, with multiple people injured on June 17 and experts warning that bears are becoming more accustomed to human environments, potentially leading to more dangerous and unpredictable encounters in the years ahead.

JR Central and JR West on June 17 announced pricing and service details for the new private-room seating that will be introduced on the Tokaido and Sanyo Shinkansen from October, creating a new top-tier class above the existing Green Car service.

A draft of the joint statement from the G7 summit in France has revealed that all proposals put forward by Prime Minister Takaichi on energy security and critical minerals have been incorporated into the agreement.

A Japanese man suspected of serving as a key coordinator for a Cambodia-based fraud syndicate that allegedly caused losses totaling billions of yen was arrested by Japanese authorities after being deported from Thailand on June 16.

Japan's Fair Trade Commission has conducted on-site inspections of six major food manufacturers over suspicions they formed a cartel to coordinate ice cream prices, with authorities investigating whether the companies exchanged information and unfairly adjusted planned retail price increases in response to rising costs.

MEDIA CHANNELS
         

MORE Society NEWS

Nara Prefectural Police have arrested the mother of a man accused of leading a group that allegedly confined the 19-year-old son of a company executive, expanding an investigation that has already led to the arrests of the victim's father and six others.

A suspect has surrendered to police in connection with the theft of about 800 agricultural containers in Gyokuto, Kumamoto Prefecture, a case that caused losses estimated at around 1 million yen and left the victimized company struggling to replace the stolen equipment.

A Japanese man suspected of serving as a key coordinator for a Cambodia-based fraud syndicate that allegedly caused losses totaling billions of yen was arrested by Japanese authorities after being deported from Thailand on June 16.

A 37-year-old man previously arrested for allegedly attempting to set fire to a company and residence operated by a Pakistani national in Ebetsu, Hokkaido, has been rearrested on suspicion of setting a blaze that destroyed a mosque building used as an Islamic place of worship.

A man was found dead after a house fire destroyed a residence in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture, early on June 16, after a police officer on patrol spotted smoke and flames rising from the property.

A stone-skipping tournament on the Nagara River in Gifu Prefecture has drawn attention to 32-year-old Kosei Kigo of Nagoya, whose extraordinary dedication to the childhood pastime includes spending hours searching for the perfect stones, taking private coaching lessons, and competing against some of Japan's top athletes in pursuit of stone-skipping mastery.

More than 900 packs of the food linked to a food poisoning outbreak at a Costco store in Nagoya were sold over a two-day period, health authorities said.

Police in Osaka have arrested 41 men and women in a fraud case involving more than 600 million yen in suspected losses, uncovering what investigators believe was a scheme in which real influencer accounts were bought and used to impersonate their original owners and solicit followers into costly side-business programs.