<figure id="attachment_456927" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 1952px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-456927"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="58ecae40"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/02/8b57169819a53ef7b6a594f2864c177b.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-456927" class="wp-caption-text">Suspect Obata being transferred to the Tokyo Itabashi Police Station. He covered his face with a hood and did not show his expression to the press at all.</figcaption></figure>
<h3>The top of Natural arrested</h3>
<p data-start="189" data-end="253">It was truly a lightning strike, seizing the summit in one go —.</p>
<p data-start="255" data-end="532">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.</p>
<p data-start="534" data-end="661">His hideout was Amami Ōshima in Kagoshima Prefecture, 1,200 km away from Kabukichō in Tokyo, the group’s main area of activity.</p>
<p data-start="663" data-end="1105">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.</p>
<p data-start="1107" data-end="1306">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.</p>
<p data-start="1308" data-end="1573">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:</p>
<p data-start="1575" data-end="1981"><strong>“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.’”</strong></p>
<p data-start="1983" data-end="2042">A figure from the underworld who knows his background says:</p>
<p data-start="2044" data-end="2167"><strong>“He’d always say, ‘We’re going to conquer every entertainment district in the country!’ He was just incredibly aggressive.”</strong></p>
<p data-start="2169" data-end="2219">At times, he is said to have shown a violent side.</p>
<p data-start="2221" data-end="2581"><strong>“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,”</strong> (current member)</p>
<p data-start="2583" data-end="2873">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.”</p>
<p data-start="2875" data-end="2951" data-is-last-node="" data-is-only-node="">For those who want to see the full details and multiple photos, click here ↓</p>
<div data-friday-gold-link-url="https://friday.gold/article/397436" data-friday-gold-link-title="Illegal Scout Group &quot;Natural&quot; vs. Police Authorities: &quot;Blitzkrieg Summit Operation&quot; and &quot;Endless Exposures&quot; to Make a Name for Themselves" data-friday-gold-link-excerpt="Deep Scoop Report: Chairman Hiroaki Obata was arrested in a persistent investigation! Nevertheless, the organization still continues to operate in the entertainment district and continues to earn money--a veritable blitz, capturing the top at once. The group has about 2,000 members, mostly young people," data-friday-gold-link-thumbnail-wide="https://assets.friday.gold/friday-wp-production-assets/app/uploads/2026/02/SH5_8500_original-05110532464159.jpg/v/crop-faces:width=256,height=144/format:type=webp?Expires=4102444800&amp;Key-Pair-Id=K2H5GZZHVJCN4V&amp;Signature=vSMgXU4HXiprLgEYz1nNDeMvSaAlKnc85S3tUXrMgyWw0yI2scmnQ6o1PfdnPqOMN4hKeEHF5nbdqRbJ~2JZh32q1NtCugYsMhzeyFvrzjhV8mgwQF7NdslMX1kPXTzw-6IqqRK~l1doYWvLxs1zLozmzgoD-V1fP60EYV1SVa3CdJ~cY~zuvdHwbUmNv4LQ4jU4K0bybzWasHtiR~0hOTzqmJGv2UWl9sFBqPhd9o7WwxXPFiKkpna2IwvRkXWMKFSPTMJTxBWFODKb5o1Eg6j0xHhTXsy-j6n~ZeRcZ3OrcUb2rRuCBGvrcW7uGh0Ifz~qXFZug-K~ZMOZBHMPnw__" data-friday-gold-link-thumbnail-square="https://assets.friday.gold/friday-wp-production-assets/app/uploads/2026/02/SH5_8500_original-05110532464159.jpg/v/crop-faces:width=105,height=105/format:type=webp?Expires=4102444800&amp;Key-Pair-Id=K2H5GZZHVJCN4V&amp;Signature=lRrA0vPArHNz0~VvdiuPqkHm-IQrrtJqK9emvod8nczuDH6yGfFU7F6hQM1OlKM5MW8rwnPvJ--u6TQhk~c6vnsWqCclOBa2-FjVJ5mrsOh9tAboCb3W51A4EzWMe0fNFfeJRnZttRA-sG5IdIvKo7O1R6-BCVwmYCIZAVGkzOSyFzVKdmLbWdiigsRKq-zZGsmPE5VkL7iz9Fy1yH3q6bdAXpvTeYKYGLDDUeVHjVCmUIQZqpMu9plaUNcn4YdzRM66C3BB~7chmvwVELHrjB~Z97kInqUTSFY8T7psgpqsUZwcHILHTc0q63ZkK6ItYjy-rtk33XrmdNHI7kJqZw__"></div>
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<figure id="attachment_456928" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 1601px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-456928"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="599c903c"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/02/e96d6c48ebe06301aeda551fe3d0897d.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-456928" class="wp-caption-text">A recent photograph was also released when the public wanted notice was issued. During questioning by the Metropolitan Police Department, he has remained silent, saying, “I will not speak about anything at this time.”</figcaption></figure>
<p>From the February 20-27, 2026 issue of &#8220;FRIDAY&#8221;</p>


 The Nihonbashi Group is a new type of reporting and intelligence team consisting of people from the media, bureaucracy, and political circles. Their latest book, "Predation: The Dark Side of Natural, a Tokuryu-type Crime Group That Turns Desire into Money" (Kodansha), will be released on February 12.

 Nihonbashi Group

 Shinji Hasuo (1st) Jiji Press (2nd)

 Hiroaki Obata, 40, the leader of the illegal scout group "Natural," was arrested by the Anti-Organized Crime Division of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department. What kind of person is this Obata suspect? An underworld figure with knowledge of the suspect's true identity told us about his true identity, which remains unknown.

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

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