Arrested Leader of Illegal Scout Group Natural — Associates Describe His Personality

The top of Natural arrested

It was truly a lightning strike, seizing the summit in one go —.

The illegal scouting group “Natural,” said to be the largest and strongest (most dangerous) in Japan, with about 2,000 members mainly among young people. Its leader, suspect Hiroaki Obata (41), was arrested by the Metropolitan Police Department’s Anti-Organized Crime Division.

His hideout was Amami Ōshima in Kagoshima Prefecture, 1,200 km away from Kabukichō in Tokyo, the group’s main area of activity.

Natural has routes in almost every entertainment district across the country to introduce women to sex industry establishments, and is an anonymous, fluid criminal group (Tokuryū) that receives scout backs (referral fees) from the shops — a practice made illegal under the revised Entertainment Business Law. Its annual revenue is believed to reach at least 5 billion yen, yet even the police have not fully grasped its actual operations.

Our magazine’s reporting team has been pursuing this mysterious organization for nearly two years, and in three installments has reported on its bizarre structure, organized like an ordinary company.

What kind of person is suspect Obata? In investigative materials from the police authorities obtained independently, he is listed as “Chairman Kiyama,” so in this article we will follow the documents and refer to him as the chairman. His background is as follows:

“The founder of Natural is a person named Kiyama, who later repeatedly changed his name and now goes by another alias. He began scout activities around 2006 and gained experience as a scout in a group called Lancôme in Tachikawa. Around 2009, he moved his area of activity to entertainment districts such as Shinjuku’s Kabukichō, gradually increased his associates, and began calling themselves ‘Natural.’”

A figure from the underworld who knows his background says:

“He’d always say, ‘We’re going to conquer every entertainment district in the country!’ He was just incredibly aggressive.”

At times, he is said to have shown a violent side.

“When he was young, he would say, ‘Who the hell do the yakuza think they are?’ and never backed down, even against organized crime, forcing them into submission. These days he rarely uses his own hands, but the idea of ruling through violence hasn’t changed — like circulating videos of young members being beaten by executives as punishment,” (current member)

The February 20–27 combined issue of FRIDAY released on February 6, and the paid edition FRIDAY GOLD, provide detailed reports on the full picture of the police’s top-target operation leading to Obata’s arrest and the latest situation surrounding the illegal scouting group “Natural.”

For those who want to see the full details and multiple photos, click here ↓

From the February 20-27, 2026 issue of “FRIDAY”