logo
Chiba vehicle inspection center suspected of fraudulently passing modified supercars

Chiba vehicle inspection center suspected of fraudulently passing modified supercars

Tokyo Reported27-06-2025
The Lamborghini belonging to Shinichi Yamamoto
CHIBA (TR) – Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested six persons for their alleged involvement in the fraudulent passing of a vehicle inspection in Matsudo City for a modified supercar last year.
Kunizo Narita, the 80-year-old proprietor of the private vehicle inspection center Matsudo City Motors Center, admitted to police that he has carried out the crime 'hundreds of times,' reports NHK (June 26).
On October 22 and 23, Narita is alleged to have created false documents to show that the modified Lamborghini owned by Shinichi Yamamoto, 55, passed its necessary inspection.
Four other persons were arrested in the case. All six suspects admit to violating the Road Transport Vehicle Act and other charges.
Yamamoto said, 'We knew the car would not pass the inspection, so we took the fraudulent route.' Meanwhile, Narita said, 'In the past, we have conducted hundreds of illegal vehicle inspections.' Shinichi Yamamoto (X) Lamborghini
Police said that the shaken inspection mandated by the law did not take place and necessary maintenance was not conducted.
For Yamamoto's Lamborghini, it did not meet vehicle inspection standards because its muffler had been illegally modified to make the engine sound louder and the vehicle was decorated with electric lights.
On Thursday, police also referred Matsudo City Motors Center as a corporation to the prosecutor's office, recommending 'severe punishment' and calling for an indictment.
Yamamoto operates a car dealership in Itabashi Ward, Tokyo. Often going by the surname 'Morohoshi,' he is the head of the 'Morohoshi Ikka' group of drivers of illegally modified sports cars. He has been driving in groups for over 10 years.
Police have received complaints about 'Morohoshi Ikka' from the public over members' revving engines and noise.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Gravel carrier captain arrested over fatal collision with yacht off Japan's Oita Pref.
Gravel carrier captain arrested over fatal collision with yacht off Japan's Oita Pref.

The Mainichi

time5 days ago

  • The Mainichi

Gravel carrier captain arrested over fatal collision with yacht off Japan's Oita Pref.

OITA -- The Oita Coast Guard Office arrested the captain of a gravel freighter on the night of Aug. 13 after a fatal collision between the vessel and a yacht off an island in southwest Japan's Oita Prefecture. Yaizu, Shizuoka Prefecture resident Yuki Mochizuki, the 28-year-old captain of the 492-ton Sada Maru No. 38, was arrested on suspicion of professional negligence endangering traffic and resulting in death. Mochizuki is specifically accused of colliding his vessel with the yacht at around 8:15 a.m. on Aug. 13, approximately 2 kilometers northeast of Hoto Island in the prefectural city of Tsukumi, causing the yacht to sink and killing Makoto Yamamoto, a 70-year-old doctor from the city of Oita who was aboard the yacht. According to the local coast guard, visibility was poor at the time, but Mochizuki allegedly failed to fulfill his duty to prevent the accident, such as by stopping his ship. The coast guard has not disclosed whether Mochizuki has admitted to the allegations. Yamamoto was found in cardiopulmonary arrest about two hours after the accident, around 10 a.m., about 4 kilometers northwest of Hoto Island, and was later pronounced dead at a hospital. According to the coast guard, Yamamoto was sailing alone and had departed from a port in the Oita prefectural city of Saiki that morning. According to Shigeharu Takeo, 75, captain of a passenger ship connecting Tsukumi Port and Hoto Island, fog often blankets the area, sometimes reducing visibility to just a few dozen meters. In addition, the area is busy with cargo ships related to a local cement factory, and extra caution is needed in thick fog. Upon hearing the news of the accident, Takeo said, "I've been sailing this route for nearly 50 years, but I've never heard of a collision between ships. As a fellow sailor, this reminds me to always put safety first." Initially, there were reports that multiple people were on the yacht, so search operations by the coast guard and others continued even after Yamamoto was found. Debris believed to be part of the yacht was discovered nearby, and it is believed to have sunk. In response to the accident, an Oita Sailing Federation representative commented, "Not just for yachts, but for all vessels, we want to remind everyone to check their surroundings while sailing and to avoid departing in poor visibility. We also want to review the emergency contact structure."

Temporary child protection facilities in major cities hit capacity as staff shortages deepen
Temporary child protection facilities in major cities hit capacity as staff shortages deepen

Japan Times

time21-07-2025

  • Japan Times

Temporary child protection facilities in major cities hit capacity as staff shortages deepen

Temporary shelters for children removed from abusive or otherwise unsafe environments are operating beyond capacity in major urban areas across Japan. These facilities, overseen by local child welfare centers known as jido sodanjo, are facing mounting pressure due to severe staff shortages and extended stays by children who have nowhere else to go. In Japan, children are taken into custody under the Child Welfare Act when deemed necessary by the head of a child welfare center or a prefectural governor, such as in cases in which abuse is suspected. The temporary shelters are either attached to or located near child welfare centers. Children are typically placed under protection for a period of up to two months, during which they receive health care, educational support and other services as part of a broader assessment to determine their future care arrangements. According to the Children and Families Agency, average occupancy rates at temporary protection facilities in Tokyo as well as Chiba and Kanagawa prefectures exceeded 100% in fiscal 2023. Children are also staying longer in these shelters: while the average stay at facilities across the country in fiscal 2021 was 32.7 days, the average stay in Chiba was 75.5 days, and over 40 days in both Tokyo and Saitama Prefecture. As reports of child abuse continue to rise nationwide, so too does the number of children taken into temporary protective custody — a trend that has persisted for years. In fiscal 2023, 270 child welfare officers left their posts at child welfare centers nationwide. More than 80% cited mental or physical health issues or dissatisfaction with their work environment as reasons for resigning, the agency said. Some cases have resulted in legal action. In Chiba, a former employee filed a lawsuit against the local government, claiming they had been forced to work long hours at a facility housing twice the number of children allowed under its official capacity. In March, a district court ruled that the prefecture had violated its duty of care and ordered it to pay roughly ¥500,000 ($3,367) in damages to the former employee. Takayuki Suzuki, a professor in the Department of Child Studies at Toyo University and a former child welfare officer, said that many workers in these facilities are nonregular staff with unstable wages and, as such, are reluctant to take on night shifts, leading to chronic understaffing. 'There are constant unreasonable demands and complaints from parents, and staff can't take time off when they need to,' Suzuki said. 'Public interest in the issue is low, so people quit before they ever feel any sense of purpose.' He added that alongside improving working conditions, it's crucial to maintain and build staff motivation — and that doing so will require a broader societal understanding of what child protection workers are up against. Japan is moving to mandate the presence of specialized staff at temporary child protection shelters. However, concerns are mounting over whether the new standards are sufficient to meet the complex needs of children in these facilities — many of whom require medical care or have experienced trauma. The central government has made it compulsory since fiscal 2024 for shelters run by child welfare centers to employ at least one specialized nurse per facility, with a five-year transition period in place to allow for implementation. But some nurses with experience in the system are calling for a reassessment of the policy. Yuka Miura, a 53-year-old nurse, worked for about a year at a temporary protection facility in the Tokyo metropolitan area. She was the sole nurse on staff, caring for more than 30 children — many of whom had suffered abuse. She estimates around 80% of those in care need some form of medical attention. According to Miura, the duties of nurses in such settings include monitoring children's health, managing medications, and accompanying them to hospital visits — tasks that go far beyond basic first aid. When she surveyed other nurses working in similar facilities across the country, she found that most said the workload was too great for a single person and that staff turnover was high as a result. 'To provide appropriate care, the standard shouldn't just be 'at least one nurse,'' Miura said. 'It needs to be based on the size of the facility and the number of children in care.' In April, she submitted an online petition with 1,490 signatures to the Children and Families Agency, urging the government to revise the shelters' staffing requirements. Translated by The Japan Times

Ex-Hokkaido cop admits to string of voyeurism incidents
Ex-Hokkaido cop admits to string of voyeurism incidents

Tokyo Reported

time19-07-2025

  • Tokyo Reported

Ex-Hokkaido cop admits to string of voyeurism incidents

HOKKAIDO (TR) – At the opening of the trial of a former Hokkaido Prefectural Police Mobile Unit Officer who stands accused of illicit photography and breaking into a changing room in Hokkaido and Fukushima prefectures over several years, the defendant admitted to the charges, reports Kyodo News (July 19). On Friday at the Kushiro District Court, Shunsuke Chiba, 24, admitted to allegations of violating the Law Banning the Taking of Sexually Explicit Photographs and trespassing. According to the indictment, Chiba used his smartphone to take tosatsu (voyeur) photos up the skirts of several women in their teens and twenties in Sapporo and Kushiro, Hokkaido, between August 2023 and May 2025. In February 2025, he allegedly broke into the women's changing room of a hotel in Tomioka, Fukushima. Shunsuke Chiba (X) After being arrested and indicted in February on suspicion of trespassing, he was arrested again while out on bail on suspicion of attempted voyeurism. On May 12, he allegedly attempted to film up the skirts of two high school girls at a shopping mall in Kushiro. Upon his arrest, he told police, 'I wanted to see a woman's underwear.' He has already retired from the Hokkaido Prefectural Police.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store