Gangster Linked to Kyokutokai Arrested Over Counterfeit Vouchers—Tattoos and Intimidation on Display

Organized Crime Groups Turning to Easy Crimes

With his hair cut short and tattoos covering both arms down to his wrists—tattoos he seemed to flaunt as he strode through the crowd—the man glared openly at onlookers, his mask pulled down beneath his chin despite COVID-19 precautions.

On September 6, this man, Kota Asaka (31), a member of the Kyokuto-kai crime syndicate, was led out of the Shinjuku Police Station for transfer. He had been arrested for attempting to cash around 100 counterfeit gift certificates at a ticket shop in Tokyo’s Shinjuku ward.

“On September 4, Asaka first tried to pass counterfeit certificates at a ticket shop in Ueno,” explained a reporter from a national newspaper’s social affairs desk. “An employee quickly realized they were fake and warned other branches. When Asaka showed up at another shop in Shinjuku, police, who had been alerted, arrested him in the act. He denies the charges, saying, ‘I didn’t know they were fake.’ The offense falls under the crime of uttering forged securities, punishable by three months to 10 years in prison if convicted.”

This is not an isolated case. On September 5, Ueno police arrested a Vietnamese man in his 20s for attempting to use 20 counterfeit ¥5,000 gift certificates at a ticket shop in Taito ward. Then, on September 7, Kasai police arrested another Vietnamese man for trying to purchase two game consoles worth about ¥75,000 at a discount store in Edogawa ward with counterfeit certificates the day before.

The rise in such cases involving foreign nationals is clear, but could similar crimes by organized crime groups also increase? Former Kanagawa Prefectural Police detective and crime journalist Taihei Ogawa offers his analysis:

“Crime syndicates are strapped for cash. Some long-associated restaurants may still pay protection money, but new ones generally won’t. Members can’t open bank accounts—even after quitting, they remain barred for five years—so they can’t rent apartments. They also struggle to get part-time jobs. As a result, they resort to easy crimes.

With counterfeit certificates, they don’t forge them themselves. They obtain them cheaply and try to cash them in. If caught, they can claim, ‘I didn’t know they were fake,’ or ‘I was tricked, too.’ Since this case ended in an attempt, the penalty will be lighter. Compared to dealing drugs, it’s far easier. In other words, younger members don’t have many ways to ‘contribute’ to the syndicate anymore, so these kinds of crimes may well increase.”

Returning to the opening scene: Asaka boarded the police transport van, glaring defiantly at the press, showing no sign of remorse.