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July 05, 2026
 

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FRAUD

Regarding how people under age 20 became involved in <i>tokuryū</i>-related crimes, 26.7% said they joined through social media, according to the National Police Agency.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Feb 26, 2026
Police took action against 1,322 young people linked to tokuryū cases last year
A National Policy Agency official said it seemed those behind such groups gave roles with high risks of being caught to people under 20, “effectively treating them as disposable.”
Computers, smartphones and other equipment seized during a raid on a scam center in Kandal province, Cambodia, last year.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Feb 26, 2026
Cambodia claims its crackdown has halved online scam activity
The Southeast Asian nation is under international pressure to dismantle networks accused of stealing billions annually from people worldwide.
Jose Alejandro Zamora Yrala in June last year. Zamora Yrala has been convicted of defrauding customers by falsifying documentation that related to the origin, status or condition of aircraft parts between 2019 and 2023.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 25, 2026
The fake parts, people and PDFs that duped the aviation industry
Jose Alejandro Zamora Yrala spent years selling 60,000 questionable jet-engine components with fabricated paperwork.
An analyst works at the INTERPOL cybercrime intelligence unit at the organization's facility in Singapore on Jan. 29.
WORLD / Crime & Legal / FOCUS
Feb 15, 2026
Interpol backroom warriors fight cybercriminals ‘weaponizing’ AI
AI is helping criminals create sophisticated deepfake audio and video to endorse scam investments and helping make dodgy online messages appear more genuine.
Prudential Life Insurance's CEO, Hiromitsu Tokumaru (second from left), bows at a news conference in Tokyo on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 12, 2026
Prudential’s fraud scandal casts spotlight on fully commission-based remuneration
The model, which appears to be unique to Prudential in Japan, is thought to have been a factor that led some of the insurer’s employees to commit fraud.
Police officers warn against special fraud cases during a crime prevention event in Tokyo in December.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Feb 12, 2026
Fraud soars to record high in Japan as scam tactics grow more sophisticated
Combined losses from special fraud, romance and social-media based investment scams soared to a record ¥324.11 billion in 2025.
Puerto Ricans line up at a U.S. voting booth in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 12, 2026
Trump’s ‘Stop the Steal’ lawyer pushed for voter fraud evidence from U.S. intelligence agency
Some officials are attempting to prove the president’s charges that the 2020 election was stolen, a claim repeatedly rejected by courts.
Counterfeit U.S. currency is strewn across the floor inside a compound in O'Smach used for scam operations in Samraong, Oddar Meanchey province, Cambodia, on Feb. 2.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Feb 11, 2026
Cambodia says it has closed almost 200 scam centers in fraud crackdown
Thousands of scam workers, ​some of them trafficking victims confined in ⁠brutal conditions, have fled compounds in recent weeks seeking to return home.
Prudential Life Insurance's new CEO, Hiromitsu Tokumaru (second from left), speaks at a news conference in Tokyo on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 10, 2026
Prudential Life’s new CEO seeks to overhaul work culture in wake of fraud
The firm’s compensation system, which is heavily weighted on performance, left employees on edge and played a major role in fueling the misconduct, the new CEO said.
Shwe Kokko city, a casino, entertainment, and tourism complex,from Thailand's side of the border after Bangkok said it would suspend electricity supply to some border areas with Myanmar to try to curb scam centers, in the Mae Sot district, Thailand, on Feb. 5, 2025
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Feb 10, 2026
AI helps scam centers evade crackdown in Asia and dupe more victims
Rather than be eradicated, Interpol officials see scam centers as more likely to evolve as artificial intelligence allows operators to scale up at low cost.
Counterfeit U.S. 100 dollar banknotes on the floor inside a compound in Cambodia used for scam operations
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Feb 7, 2026
Scammers’ abandoned Cambodia compound exposes brutality and banality of fraud
A visit to a bombed-out compound near the Thai-Cambodian border offered a look into ​the fraud that has fleeced billions of dollars from victims globally.
Prosecutors on Thursday sought a life sentence for Toshiya Fujita, a senior member of the "Luffy" crime ring responsible for a series of robbery and fraud cases across Japan.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Feb 5, 2026
Life sentence sought for ‘Luffy’ crime ring member
The case involves Toshiya Fujita, a senior member of a crime ring behind a series of robbery and fraud cases across the country.
A total of 337 police officers and personnel were disciplined across Japan in 2025, up 98 from the previous year for its first rise in three years and marking a decade high, according to a National Police Agency tally released Thursday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Feb 5, 2026
337 police personnel disciplined in Japan in 2025
The figure grew by 98 from the previous year for its first rise in three years, notching a decade high.
Prudential Life Insurance will suspend sales of new insurance policies for 90 days starting Monday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 4, 2026
Life insurance firm pauses sales following revelation of financial misconduct
Prudential Life Insurance was found to have mishandled about ¥3.1 billion through schemes ranging from fraud to borrowing money from clients.
Chubu Electric Power executives apologize during a news conference on Jan. 5 in Nagoya after disclosing that the company might have cherry-picked earthquake data for the Hamaoka nuclear power plant.
JAPAN
Jan 26, 2026
Nuclear watchdog begins inspection of Chubu Electric HQ over data fraud
The probe is aimed at uncovering the circumstances surrounding and motives behind the earthquake risk data fraud concerning its Hamaoka nuclear power plant.
According to a court ruling, Tomu Fujinuma transported a high school student from Thailand to Myanmar in January 2025 after the boy was kidnapped from Miyagi Prefecture, and forced him to take part in fraud at a scam hub in Myanmar.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jan 20, 2026
Man found guilty of sending student to Myanmar for fraud
A judge said that transporting the student, including by ship, to a place from which he could not return by himself was “a malicious act.”
A National Police Agency poster raises the alert over scammers posing as company CEOs.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jan 19, 2026
Scammers posing as company CEOs surge in Japan
Small and midsize companies are particularly vulnerable to such scams because of the relative closeness between executives and workers.
Workers leave a suspected scam-center compound in Sihanoukville on Thursday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Jan 16, 2026
Fraudsters flee Cambodia’s ‘scam city’ after alleged kingpin deported to China
The Cambodian government has said it is cracking down on the multibillion-dollar industry but residents said many people moved out days before the arrival of authorities.
Prudential Life Insurance in Tokyo said more than 100 current and former employees had been defrauding customers of money.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 16, 2026
Over 100 employees of Prudential Life Insurance behind ¥3.1 billion fraud, firm reveals
An internal probe uncovered fraudulent activities committed by current and former employees against some 500 customers.
Osaka Prefectural Police suspect the two men arrested are members of a group of real estate scammers.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jan 15, 2026
Judicial scrivener arrested over property scam in Osaka
Osaka police believe the two men arrested on suspicion of fraudulently conducting real estate ownership transfer registration are members of a group of real estate scammers.
‘My dream is broken’: Japan visa rules push out foreign residents
A man orders from a kebab shop in the Okubo district in Tokyo.
Japan plans to sharply raise fees for residence permits from October
Foreign tourists walk on the path leading to the Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto in May.
Japan’s princesses face life-altering legal revisions
Princess Aiko, the daughter of Emperor Naruhito, said in a 2022 news conference upon coming of age that she hopes to “spend a long time together” with her parents.
Japanese police arrest nine over Sierra Leone-based special fraud
Japanese police have arrested nine individuals for their alleged involvement in a special fraud case using Sierra Leone as a base.
Japanese-language education is at a turning point
The country is gradually transforming Japanese-language education from a volunteer-driven system into a professional, government-supported network to better serve its growing foreign population. 
Japan plans to sharply raise fees for residence permits from October
Foreign tourists walk on the path leading to the Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto in May.
X Games returns to Chiba with new team format
Skateboarder Sora Shirai practices at Makuhari Messe in Chiba on Friday afternoon. X Games Chiba begins on Saturday.
NU Festival tests Takanawa Gateway City complex’s culture cred
Veteran improvisers Kazuo Imai and Atsuhiro Ito brought some unruly energy to NU Festival, a three-day multimedia event held at the Takanawa Gateway City complex.  
Japan’s princesses face life-altering legal revisions
Princess Aiko, the daughter of Emperor Naruhito, said in a 2022 news conference upon coming of age that she hopes to “spend a long time together” with her parents.
Six of the best: rikishi of note in each sumo division
Kazuma (right) faces off against future <i>yokozuna</i> Onosato during the All Japan Amateur Sumo Championships at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo in December 2020.

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