<figure id="attachment_360495" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-360495" style="width: 803px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="1883613e"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/02/2257abfd30974d0076d6c46f4a2c9b9f.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-360495" class="wp-caption-text">Chen, the suspect who spoke of a &#8220;Tori Kikin affiliate.&#8221;</figcaption></figure>
<p> Eleven more people were arrested.</p>
<p> By February 16, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department&#8217;s Anti-Gang Division arrested Chen Huaxiong, 45, a Chinese company owner, and others on suspicion of obstructing business under false pretenses. On a street in Kabukicho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, Chen and others led customers to an izakaya they operated by lying that it was an affiliate of Tori Kikaya. They are alleged to have obstructed the business of the yakitori chain Tori Aristocrat by charging high prices to customers.</p>
<p> A reporter for this magazine was also nearly caught in a &#8220;rip-off&#8221; scam involving a major izakaya chain. In an article distributed on February 5, &#8220;FRIDAY Digital&#8221; reported in detail on the reporter&#8217;s experience and the fraudulent group&#8217;s modus operandi. We would like to recount the entire incident in this recap (some corrections have been made).</p>
<h2> I can show you to the affiliated restaurant right away.</h2>
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<p> It was a little after 9:30 p.m. in Kabukicho, Shinjuku.</p>
<p> The reporter was walking through the entertainment district with an acquaintance, feeling a bit tipsy after the first party, when a male tout approached them.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> He said, &#8220;0000 (the name of a famous izakaya chain) is full. We have plenty of seats at our affiliated restaurant, so we can take you there right away.</span></p>
<p> He is probably checking with the restaurant. The man turns to a small radio intercom and asks, &#8220;You two can go in now, can&#8217;t you? I declined the man&#8217;s invitation because I had already decided on a venue for the after-party, but I had no idea that &#8220;rip-off scams&#8221; were rampant, calling themselves affiliated stores of major chains.</p>
<p> By January 29, the Anti-Gang Division of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department arrested 15 men and women, aged 18-58, including Zhang Peng, a Chinese national with an unknown occupation, on suspicion of obstructing business by deception, for touting on a street in Kabukicho under the guise of a restaurant affiliated with &#8220;Tori-Kiyori. Zhang Peng and the other suspects run &#8220;Torimichi,&#8221; &#8220;Torikichi Bar,&#8221; and other taverns that have nothing to do with &#8220;Tori Aristocrat. They were allegedly ripping off passersby by calling out to them, &#8220;Toriki (Tori Aristocrat)!</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> Toriki is full, so we&#8217;ll introduce you to our affiliated restaurants.</span></p>
<p> The customers were astonished when they entered the restaurant of Zhang and the other suspects.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> According to social networking sites of the victims, when they ordered, they were served with undercooked yakitori and dried bean sprouts. The seasoning was also inappropriate, and the food was not very edible. The price is not just &#8220;all-you-can-drink for 1,780 yen. They were asked to pay more than three times what they had been promised, with an additional &#8220;seat charge&#8221; and &#8220;weekend fee&#8221; added on top.</span></p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> Some were even charged close to 10,000 yen just for two beers and an appetizer. The restaurant had a sign in small letters that said, &#8220;10% charge,&#8221; so many customers cried themselves to sleep. However, since last year, there have been more than 20 cases reported to the police, leading to this arrest. Tori Aristocrat,&#8217; which had its business interfered with, also filed a damage report with the Metropolitan Police Department to alert the public.</span></p>
<p> Recently, rip-off scams involving affiliated restaurants of famous chains such as Tori-Kiyori have been rampant in the Kabukicho area.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> According to the police, Zhang and the other suspects have close ties to the quasi-gang &#8220;Chinese Dragon. It is possible that the money obtained through rip-offs may have flowed to the organization.</span></p>
<p> A new rip-off scam in which the reporter almost became a victim. Beware of touts who lure you with sweet words!</p>
<div data-friday-nextpage-lead=" Tori Aristocrat&quot; ripping off a customer...A man&#39;s &quot;horrified face&quot; photo."></div>
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<figure id="attachment_360494" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-360494" style="width: 963px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="8f401024"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/02/77aa34616588a3411e6c3a2078f20b2a.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-360494" class="wp-caption-text">Zhang allegedly ripped off a restaurant affiliated with Tori Aristocrat (photo partially doctored).</figcaption></figure>
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<figure id="attachment_356876" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-356876" style="width: 700px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="d5b8ecc1"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/02/11649492e8202f8290e7913547710572.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-356876" class="wp-caption-text"> Charged more than three times the promised price (some photos have been doctored)</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_356877" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-356877" style="width: 1620px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="e5b0ad58"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/02/f3f51c9049ce6343d40db372455524a1.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-356877" class="wp-caption-text"> Allegedly changed the name of the restaurant and committed fraud (photo partially doctored)</figcaption></figure>
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<figure id="attachment_356878" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-356878" style="width: 1620px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="6975b8e4"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/02/eee3aab0f664aa7e35cd6a293c048bd0.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-356878" class="wp-caption-text"> New rip-offs are rampant in Kabukicho (some photos have been doctored)</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_356879" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-356879" style="width: 1620px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="a73a15ac"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/02/2f0dd963956233c547903bb5dccd5475.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-356879" class="wp-caption-text"> The food was said to be badly seasoned and inedible (some photos have been doctored).</figcaption></figure>
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 Shinji Hasuo

 A group of people who posed as affiliated restaurants of the izakaya chain "Tori Aristocrat" and ripped off their customers have been arrested again. The reporter was almost duped by the fraudsters, who are believed to be a quasi-gang called "Chinese Dragon.

Triple the promised price for dried bean sprouts&#8230;! Reporters were almost cheated by the &#8220;fake &#8216;Tori Aristocrat&#8217; rip-off scam&#8221;!

Triple the promised price for dried bean sprouts…! Reporters were almost cheated by the “fake ‘Tori Aristocrat’ rip-off scam”!

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