<figure id="attachment_464428" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-464428" style="width: 1243px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="57bc297b"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/04/e96d6c48ebe06301aeda551fe3d0897d.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-464428" class="wp-caption-text">The suspect, Chairman Obata, was caught in January on Amami-Oshima Island, where he was hiding out. He was arrested after being wanted nationwide, which is unprecedented under the Violence Exclusion Ordinance.</figcaption></figure>
<h3> There are still more insiders in the police force!</h3>
<p> On that day, Daisuke Jimbo, 44, a former assistant police inspector of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department&#8217;s Anti-Gang Division, was in the defendant&#8217;s seat in Courtroom 412 of the Tokyo District Court.</p>
<p> Jimbo was arrested and charged with violating the Local Public Service Act for leaking information on the investigation, including images and locations of cameras monitoring the movements of the chairman and other executives, while he was a core member of the investigation team of the &#8220;Natural,&#8221; an illegal scout group that is known as the &#8220;largest and most dangerous&#8221; in Japan.</p>
<p> At his first trial in February, Jimbo looked tired, with long hair that had grown long while he was in detention and wearing a top and bottom sweatshirt, but on March 25, after he was released on bail, he appeared in court wearing a gray suit and dark red tie. His hair was also trimmed.</p>
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<p> After the trial, Jimbo looked repeatedly at the audience, as if frightened of something. He looked as if he was constantly looking for someone. Was it a colleague from the Metropolitan Police Department with whom he had worked, or was it someone from Natural? &#8230;&#8230;</p>
<p> During the defendant&#8217;s questioning, which took place the week before the verdict was handed down, Jimbo gave extremely important testimony. In an exchange with the prosecutor, he stated that &#8220;other investigators had also leaked information,&#8221; and that he was asked (by Natural) about information leaked by another official, &#8220;Is this correct?</p>
<p> FRIDAY has reported in detail on the actual situation at Natural four times since last March, and has pointed out the suspicion that there are other police officers besides Jimbo who have been &#8220;taken in. An active member of NATURAL also gave testimony to the author that corroborates this.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> There are multiple routes, not only to the Metropolitan Police Department, but to all the major police authorities in the country. There are still many people on the inside, so the disappearance of one person will not affect us. We still have access to information about the investigation.&#8221;</span></p>
<p> The police authorities are aware of the allegations and have been secretly conducting internal investigations, including those of local police departments, but the investigations have not yielded any results and are likely to come to an end. One senior police official kept his voice down.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> I don&#8217;t believe that Jimbo is the only one who has been working on the inside,&#8221; said a senior police official. However, there is no solid testimony or evidence, and if we make a case, the organization will bleed even more blood. We executives will also be held accountable. We have no choice but to treat them well, for example, by removing them from the case when they are transferred.</span></p>
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<p> The police, having lost all face with Jimbo&#8217;s arrest, launched an open investigation, and the Metropolitan Police Department played a central role in a no-holds-barred strategy to climb to the top. On January 26, the police arrested Hiroaki Obata, 41, a.k.a. &#8220;Kiyama,&#8221; the chairman, on suspicion of violating the Tokyo Metropolitan Government&#8217;s Gang Exclusion Ordinance. However, the investigation is proving difficult.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> The first charge was that he paid a protection fee to a gang in exchange for permission to scout for women. Later, he was arrested again for violating the Employment Security Law by introducing several women to a brothel, but he has remained mostly silent, and the investigation is far from over.</span></p>
<div data-friday-nextpage-lead=" Hiring IT personnel and creating an anti-police application"></div>
<h3>Surprising testimony from a former police lieutenant who was sentenced</h3>
<p> There are many layers of barriers between the end scouts and the highest executives, and some have pointed out that &#8220;it is difficult to maintain a public trial&#8221; in regard to charging the chairman as an accomplice. A case for violation of the Organized Crime Punishment Law for concealing criminal proceeds is also being considered, but since Natural members use a highly secretive &#8220;black market app&#8221; that they developed themselves, there is very little physical evidence.</p>
<p> Another active member, who is close to the heart of the organization, showed no sense of crisis or impatience.</p>
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<p><span class="strongInContent"> When the news broke about the arrest of the chairman, some of the younger members left, fearing that they would be exposed. Compared to the 2,000 members we had at our peak, we may have lost 200 to 300, but there has been no talk of dissolving the organization. We still have plenty of funds.&#8221;</span></p>
<p> According to this member, the organization is currently managed collectively by the chairman&#8217;s twin brother and other longtime executives, and the chairman&#8217;s intentions have been conveyed to them through his lawyer. There is a move to rebuild the organization&#8217;s dedicated application known to the police, and surprisingly, IT personnel are being hired for this purpose.</p>
<p> Some of the contracted brothels have stopped doing business with Natural, so the salaries of the scouts in the field have been reduced slightly, but they have not fallen behind in their payments and were paid in cash as usual last month.</p>
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<p> Former police lieutenant Jimbo, who received a suspended sentence, did not speak out at the trial about who he leaked information to because he was &#8220;afraid of retaliation,&#8221; but he sent a message to his old police acquaintances to the effect that his future life would be fine because he has a place that will take care of him.</p>
<p> There is also information that the natural side has offered him a large sum of money in the form of legal fees, and he said, &#8220;There is a possibility that I may be taken in again. For the time being, we have no choice but to monitor his movements and follow him if necessary,&#8221; said an investigator.</p>
<p> Natural, even after losing its head, the chairman of the board, continues to stir with an unfathomable sense of foreboding. (Some titles in the text are omitted.)</p>
<p> From the April 17/24, 2026 issue of &#8220;FRIDAY</p>
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<p> Nihonbashi Group*. <br>
A new type of reporting and intelligence team consisting of people from the media, bureaucracy, and political circles. Their latest book, &#8221; <a href="https://amzn.to/3QgejmI" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Predation: The Dark Side of the Tokuryu-Type Crime Group &#8220;Natural&#8221; That Turns Desire into Money</a> &#8221; (Kodansha), which provides a complete picture of Natural, has received a great response, with the book going into overprint within one month of its release.</p>
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<figure id="attachment_464429" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-464429" style="width: 1386px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="db514e8f"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/04/0f5a2c6772bd85fd7e7013144663c8f8.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-464429" class="wp-caption-text"> Former police lieutenant Jimbo (back) was convicted. In a search of his house, 9 million yen in cash was found, believed to be in return for leaking information.</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_464430" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-464430" style="width: 1980px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="507f3130"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/04/3315ba69f0033604e93aa847ed35c66a.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-464430" class="wp-caption-text"> The police authorities are committed to the &#8220;destruction of Tokuryu. Will they be able to completely dismantle Natural?</figcaption></figure>


 Nihonbashi Group*.

 Jiji Press (1st and 3rd photos), Asahi Shimbun (2nd photo)

 The illegal scout group "Natural" is the largest and the "most dangerous" in Japan. The top leader of this terrifying organization, which has an inside man in the police department's anti-gang division, has been arrested. However, the impact of the arrest seems to be minimal...

No impact&#8221; even if the chairman is arrested&#8230; The horror of &#8220;Natural,&#8221; an illegal scouting group with insiders in the police force.

No impact” even if the chairman is arrested… The horror of “Natural,” an illegal scouting group with insiders in the police force.

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