<figure id="attachment_456299" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-456299" style="width: 1387px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="b964e6ed"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/02/81a98f69d90c2a1f1f307eaaf3539afc.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-456299" class="wp-caption-text">The suspect, Obata, was crouched in the center of the last row of seats when he was transported to the Itabashi Police Station of the Metropolitan Police Department.</figcaption></figure>
<h3><span class="strongInContent"> He kept his face hidden from the cameras.</span></h3>
<p> Shortly after 6:00 p.m. on January 27, a black one-box car arrived at the Itabashi Police Station of the Metropolitan Police Department. A black one-box car arrived at the Itabashi Police Station of the Metropolitan Police Department. Between the driver&#8217;s seat and the passenger&#8217;s seat, where a cool-looking investigator was seated, a person wearing a black hood could be seen lying face down in the center of the back seat.</p>
<p> The car stops and the rear sliding door opens to reveal a figure wearing a black hoodie and gray sweatpants. The hood is deeply covered and his face is completely obscured. As he walked through the camera flashes, he pulled the tip of the hood down with one hand, trying to keep his face from being seen. It was a miserable sight for the &#8220;legendary leader&#8221; of the largest scouting group in Japan, which has 1,500 members.</p>
<div data-friday-ad-slot="AD_inArticle"></div>
<p> The suspect, Hiroaki Obata, 40, the head of &#8220;Natural,&#8221; was arrested on July 26 on Amami Oshima Island, where he was hiding out. He is suspected of violating the Tokyo Metropolitan Government&#8217;s Gang Exclusion Ordinance by paying 600,000 yen in protection money to a gang member on a street in Shibuya, Tokyo, in July 2011.</p>
<p> A warrant was issued for Obata when the Metropolitan Police Department conducted a simultaneous search of Natura in January &#8217;25, but was unable to arrest him because he had disappeared since he was last seen in the vicinity of his home in Minato Ward, Tokyo, just before his arrest. When the police put out an open APB on January 21 of this year, they received about 30 tips.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> After the release of the mug shot, on the 23rd they received a tip that &#8220;there is a person who looks like him in Amami,&#8221; and the Metropolitan Police Department dispatched 10 investigators who confirmed that the suspect was definitely Obata by looking at security camera footage and other information.</span></p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> Around 8:00 p.m., investigators found a person who looked like him at a convenience store. When several people approached the suspect, he became violent and made a move to run away, but when he admitted that he was Hiroaki Obata, they arrested him. He was wearing dark glasses and had grown out his hair and beard, unlike the wanted photograph.</span></p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> Subsequent investigation revealed that he had made a reservation at a hotel located a few hundred meters from where he was found from December 21 of last year to February 3 of this year, and had paid the fee in cash in advance. The Metropolitan Police Department believes that he had been traveling around Kansai, Kyushu, and other areas, doing his hobbies of surfing and muscle training while on the run. In addition, 1.7 million yen in cash was found in the safe in the room where he was staying, which is believed to have been used as escape funds.</span></p>
<div data-friday-ad-slot="AD_inArticle"></div>
<p> In December 2010, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department established a cross-departmental investigation team to destroy illegal scout groups that are antisocial forces. On January 27, 2013, the Metropolitan Police Department conducted a simultaneous search of dozens of locations in Tokyo to round up all natural scouts, including their top management. However, as mentioned above, they ended up missing the Obata suspect. Despite the fact that investigators had confirmed his movements, he disappeared several days before the raids.</p>
<p> There were whispers in the scouting industry that <span class="strongInContent">&#8220;information was leaked from one of the investigators&#8221; in</span> this case. Last November, a lieutenant (43) of the Anti-Gang Division, who was a member of the investigation team, was arrested on suspicion of leaking information to the natural in a separate case, and his involvement is suspected.</p>
<p> What kind of person is Obata, whom the Metropolitan Police Department has been pursuing with bloodlust? Yukio Ishihara, an underworld journalist, says <span class="strongInContent">, &#8220;When I ask young scouts about him, he is like an object of worship.</span></p>
<div data-friday-nextpage-lead=" The &quot;Legend&quot; of Obata"></div>
<h3><span class="strongInContent">He was a divine leader.</span></h3>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> I don&#8217;t know if this is a true story, but one of the stories leaked from the top is that &#8216;Kiyama-san (Obata&#8217;s alias) went into the office unarmed to rescue a scout who had been kidnapped by gangsters, negotiated with them, and rescued them. This episode gave Kiyama-san the charisma of being smart and courageous enough to deal with yakuza on an equal footing.</span></p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> The natural way of doing things is basically the same as other anti-competitive companies: &#8220;candy and whip,&#8221; but as far as I have been able to gather, he is giving them more of the candy. The young scouts told me, &#8220;Other anti-social organizations, such as black market jobbers and gangsters, offer tasty deals when they invite you, but in reality they are disposable and don&#8217;t pay you anything at all. But Natural gives you the promised amount of money. That&#8217;s why there are cases of students from quite decent universities who are scouts because they want to save up money to start their own businesses,&#8221; he said.</span></p>
<div data-friday-ad-slot="AD_inArticle"></div>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> On the other hand, the whips are also hard. If a person breaks the rules of the association or makes bad sales, he or she is beaten up so severely in front of the other members that he or she can no longer stand up on the spot. Because of his trust and fear of the organization, he probably believes in the &#8220;legend of Mr. Kiyama&#8221; somehow. However, the upper management of NATURAL is quite smart, as they have formed an IT team and created their own application, so it is possible that this is a strategy to deify &#8220;Kiyama-san.</span></p>
<p> What will happen to Natural now that Obata, Kiyama, a &#8220;living legend,&#8221; has been caught?</p>
<div data-friday-ad-slot="AD_inArticle"></div>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> As is often the case with huge companies that lose a charismatic founder, there is a possibility that the team will split up. However, since they are not smuggling large quantities of drugs or killing people, I don&#8217;t think they will go to jail for 10 or 20 years. One of the executives has been supporting Obata throughout his escape, and that will continue during the trial. Then there is one possibility that the organization would remain monolithic and wait for Obata&#8217;s release from prison.</span></p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> One possibility is that Natural may have been flying women overseas for sex, so if they can make a case for human trafficking, they won&#8217;t be able to come out right away. If that happens, we might expect to see people planning to take over the organization or to start an internal schism. I think the game is to see what kind of charges can be built and how much punishment can be obtained.</span></p>
<p> How many charges can be brought against Obata? The dark battle between the police and natural seems to be just beginning.</p>
<div class="expapp-no-provided-scope expapp-no-provided-scope-line-only-start"></div>
<p> FRIDAY Digital welcomes your information and tip-offs. Please send your information to the following information form or to the official X.</p>
<p> Information Form: <a href="https://friday.kodansha.co.jp/tips">https://friday.kodansha.co.jp/tips</a><br>
Official X: <a href="https://x.com/FRIDAY_twit" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://x.com/FRIDAY_twit</a></p>
<div class="expapp-no-provided-scope expapp-no-provided-scope-end"></div>
<div data-friday-nextpage-lead=" [Image] Obata, the suspect who was arrested: &quot;The true face of a fallen legend.&quot;"></div>
<figure id="attachment_456301" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-456301" style="width: 4710px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="fd61173c"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/02/551635f3aca5295206206ac0425f2b50.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-456301" class="wp-caption-text">Obata, the suspect arrested on Amami Oshima Island, was transported from Haneda Airport shortly after 6:00 p.m. on January 27.</figcaption></figure>
<div data-friday-ad-slot="AD_inArticle"></div>
<figure id="attachment_456302" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-456302" style="width: 1491px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="f2d9a5b4"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/02/45052b5c8aea7d69aef33c5bb99e147f.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-456302" class="wp-caption-text"> He finally showed himself, but his face was completely obscured by a deep hood.</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_456303" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-456303" style="width: 1564px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="faaedfc6"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/02/c9d7244ac6246d68cabd7b31c66ad354.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-456303" class="wp-caption-text"> In front of the press, he pulled the tip of the hood and tried not to show his face.</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_456304" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-456304" style="width: 1138px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="31182470"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/02/5de557f6ab3444d66af708d531f03808.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-456304" class="wp-caption-text"> He was the head of &#8220;Natural,&#8221; which has 1,500 members and is said to have earned 4.45 billion yen in 2010.</figcaption></figure>
<div data-friday-ad-slot="AD_inArticle"></div>
<figure id="attachment_456305" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-456305" style="width: 793px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="3f7d0384"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/02/8300cfcf3d8cb96d65f81331f03584ed.png" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-456305" class="wp-caption-text"> Photo of Obata released on January 21 (from the Metropolitan Police Department&#8217;s website)</figcaption></figure>


 Shinji Hasuo

 Obata, the head of "Natural," who disappeared just before the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department roundup last January and had been on the run for about a year, was arrested on Amami-Oshima Island. What is the "legend" of this man, who was also the keystone of the organization's unity? And what is the future of the organization?<br />


The charisma of Obata, a “living legend” who is “the object of worship among young scouts,” and the future of the organization

Access Ranking