News On Japan

Roppongi bar suspected of swindling 1,300 foreigners out of Y660 million

Jul 29 (tokyoreporter.com) - Tokyo Metropolitan Police estimate that a bar operator in the Roppongi entertainment district swindled foreigners out of more than 100 million yen annually since 2013, reports the Sankei Shimbun (July 28).

One case took place last September 26. That night, Rifat Hossain, a 40-year-old Bangladeshi national who managed bar NY Bay, allegedly misappropriated the credit card of a male 42-year-old British national for about 930,000 yen.

Police allege that Hossain presented the victim with a fabricated bill containing food and drink items he did not order.

Upon his arrest on suspicion of electronic fraud on Monday, Hossain declined to comment on the allegations, the Azabu Police Station said.

The arrest is the seventh for Hossain. Police had previously accused him and two other employees of NY Bay of attempted robbery in the incident involving the British national.

After the fraudulent payment was made with the credit card, the suspects demanded that the victim pay more in cash. The suspects then allegedly pinned him down and beat him in the face and threatened him.

Hossain employed a 25-year-old female Chinese national. She got to know the victim, who came to Japan for the Rugby World Cup, through a matchmaking application.

The incident began when the Chinese national met him at a hotel lobby. After she brought him to the bar, he became extremely drunk when he was forced to drink very strong alcohol, police said previously.

News On Japan
POPULAR NEWS

Typhoon No. 24 (Fung-shen) is strengthening over the South China Sea and is expected to make landfall in Vietnam later this week, according to forecasts. Satellite images on October 20th show extensive cloud coverage over the central South China Sea. After passing over the Philippines, Fung-shen temporarily weakened but is projected to intensify again as it continues westward through Tuesday.

Tokyo’s seas and rivers, once considered lawless backwaters beyond the reach of regular policing, are now under constant watch by a dedicated force known as the “water police,” specialists who patrol the capital’s waterways, chase down smugglers, stop reckless jet ski riders, and carry out dramatic rescue missions to save lives.

Kyoto’s world-famous Arashiyama district, a popular destination for both domestic and international tourists, is facing a growing problem of graffiti etched into the bamboo along its iconic “Bamboo Grove Path,” with more than 350 stalks now damaged — a practice that experts warn could eventually cause bamboo to weaken, fall, and even injure visitors.

Japan’s streaming industry is under growing pressure as foreign giants tighten their grip on the domestic market, with Netflix’s latest move to secure exclusive broadcast rights in Japan for every game of the World Baseball Classic next March highlighting the widening gap.

Investigators from the Immigration Services Agency conducted on-site inspections in Osaka on October 14th amid a surge in so-called 'paper companies' created by foreign nationals seeking residency.

MEDIA CHANNELS
         

MORE Society NEWS

The October issue of the long-established American lifestyle magazine Town & Country features Mako Komuro, the eldest daughter of the Akishino family, on the cover under the headline "Princess Ingognito," dedicating a six-page spread to Komuro and her husband Kei, exploring their life in the United States.

Police have arrested a former host and several associates for allegedly coercing female customers into sex work after exploiting their romantic feelings and saddling them with massive debts.

A violent attack early on October 20th in Ibaraki Town, Ibaraki Prefecture left one man dead and another injured after they were stabbed with what appeared to be a bladed weapon inside an apartment. Police are investigating the case as a murder.

A woman in her 40s suffered a serious injury after being trapped in a mechanical parking system in Tokyo’s Shinagawa Ward on October 19th.

A former pet shop owner convicted of repeatedly sexually assaulting several female employees and sentenced to 30 years in prison appealed his case at the Fukuoka High Court on October 14th, again claiming that the acts were consensual.

The relocation of Arimasu Tobiru, a distinctive architectural landmark on Hijirizaka in Tokyo’s Minato Ward, was carried out between August and October after nearly two decades of construction.

A Brazilian man has been arrested and indicted for smuggling cocaine into Japan by swallowing the drugs and concealing them inside his body.

Prosecutors have demanded the death penalty for a man accused of killing three family members and seriously injuring another with a crossbow in 2020 in Takarazuka, Hyogo Prefecture.