President of Rakuten Mobile subcontractor obtains exclusive “on-the-spot” photos of “marijuana cultivation” in an apartment building.
The company was contracted to install and inspect antenna base stations. ......
It was recently reported that a former general manager of Rakuten Mobile and executives of a subcontractor had defrauded a company of 4.9 billion yen, and the president of another subcontractor, X, is involved in the cultivation and sale of marijuana.
The president of another subcontractor, President X, is involved in the cultivation and sale of marijuana,” confided a company manager. In March of this year, the former general manager and the managing director and president of a subcontractor company were arrested and indicted by the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department on suspicion of fraud in connection with Rakuten Mobile’s cell phone base station maintenance business. The former general manager had been in the news for using the money he embezzled to purchase a string of luxury foreign cars, condominiums, and brand-name goods.
This time, the president of another subcontractor of Rakuten Mobile, which operates cell phone base stations, was involved in the cultivation and sale of drugs.
One of the company’s employees, a man from Sendai named Y, used to live with an acquaintance of mine. He once boasted that he used to be involved in music production for an animation program on TV Tokyo. However, he also told people that he could not make a living in music and was working as a subcontractor for Rakuten Mobile. He is said to be cultivating and selling marijuana under the direction of the president of that subcontractor company, X.”
[Claire] Thank you for your hard work!!!! I have sprouted!!!! I’m so happy!
These are some of the messages Mr. Y exchanged with certain people via “Telegram” about two years ago. The message was sent mainly to Mr. X, the president of a subcontracting company.
Mr. X’s company, headquartered in Kita-ku, Tokyo, is described on its website as primarily engaged in the development of cell phone communication infrastructure and demolition work.
Handwritten diagrams for instructions.
The company is said to be Rakuten Mobile’s fourth-tier subcontractor for installation, inspection, and repair of cell phone antenna base stations, and even though it is a fourth-tier subcontractor, when workers went to the site, they would say, “This is Rakuten Mobile” as they went about their work.
The magazine obtained a large number of images and documents of Mr. X and Mr. Y communicating with each other via Telegram. The magazine obtained a large number of images and documents of this exchange between Mr. X and Mr. Y via Telegram.
X 〈It’s good, but I’m a little concerned about the fact that it’s almost all indica… I knew Royal Gorilla was perfect…
Y〈 Would you like to buy five grains? And then buy five of the real thing, too!
By the way, indica and royal gorilla are different types of marijuana.
According to the source, “Mr. X is in charge of directing the cultivation and sale of marijuana. In the messages we obtained, Mr. X instructs Mr. Y on the purchase of equipment and supplies necessary for cultivation, such as air purifiers, outlet timers, sound-absorbing rock wool insulation, and blue and red fluorescent lights, specifying the manufacturer and quantity of each item.
Some of the images included hand-drawn diagrams explaining the cultivation method, and Mr. X sent a message saying, “Take a screenshot.
Another source testified.
Y rented an apartment in Saitama City and used it as a cultivation room.
As if to corroborate these testimonies, this magazine also obtained the rental agreement for the apartment rented by Mr. Y and an interior photo of the cultivation room (photo above). The magazine also obtained an IOU from Mr. X for 120,000 yen borrowed by Mr. Y in December of last year, indicating that the two were financially connected.
Naturally, the illicit cultivation and sale of marijuana is prohibited under the Marijuana Control Law. What would the parties involved say to our interview?
When we visited Mr. X’s business address, which turned out to be a virtual office, we contacted him on his cell phone, to which he replied, “I have nothing to say.
When we asked a Rakuten spokesperson about the confirmation of the facts and the future response, he replied in writing, “We are not in a position to comment, as we do not have a direct business relationship.
According to the aforementioned person, the investigative authorities are already aware of the information that Mr. X and Mr. Y were involved in marijuana cultivation. The day when a case is made is likely to come soon.
From the May 5, 2023 issue of FRIDAY
Interview and text by: Hironori Jinno
Nonfiction writer