Latest news with #Kokubo
Tokyo Reported
3 days ago
- Business
- Tokyo Reported
Chiba executive suspected of scalping tickets for MLB opening series
TOKYO (TR) – Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested a 54-year-old company president for illegally reselling tickets for Major League Baseball's opening two-game series and other games at Tokyo Dome earlier this year, reports NHK (May 27). According to police, Mamoru Kokubo illegally resold 12 tickets for the opening series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs and exhibition games involving the Yomiuri Giants and Hanshin Tigers in March this year. The tickets have a face value of 430,000 yen but Kokubo, a resident of Funabashi City, Chiba Prefecture, collected 7.89 million yen in the resale, police said. Upon his arrest on suspicion of violating the Ticket Resale Prohibition Act, Kokubo admitted to the allegations. 'After buying professional baseball tickets on a resale site several times, I thought I could make some extra cash. I started using the site to resell tickets,' the suspect said. 'I used the money to finance the company I run.' Mamoru Kokubo (X) Non-existent company All told, Kokubo obtained a total of 72 tickets by applying under the names of multiple companies and relatives for corporate slots in the so-called '6-game pack,' which included tickets for the two opening series games and four exhibition games. He put 62 of these tickets up for resale on a resale site, reselling them for up to 2 million yen each, making a profit of 21.8 million yen. At the time, tickets for the opening series between the Dodgers and Cubs were being bought and sold on resale sites for several times the retail price. Some tickets were being sold for anything from several hundred thousand yen to as much as 2 million yen each. According to the official website, the cheapest 'Reserved Seat A' for the '6-game pack' was on sale for 115,500 yen, while the most expensive was the 'Diamond Box' at 679,000 yen. To apply, users entered the company's name, address, name of person in charge, and contact information on the site. However, according to the Metropolitan Police Department, they are not required to submit documents or otherwise verify the existence of the company. Police suspect that Kokubo purchased tickets under the name of a non-existent company. The Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs played two games at Tokyo Dome in March 'Dark side is expanding' The Ticket Resale Prohibition Act came into effect in June 2019 as people who really wanted tickets had difficulty obtaining them due to unfair high-price resales by businesses and individuals. These scalpers bought up tickets and sold them on resale and auction sites at prices far above the list price. Violators are subject to one-year in prison or a fine of up to 1 million yen, or both. However, this law only applies to cases where the act is carried out 'as a business' with the intention of continuing repeatedly, so the current situation is that crackdowns are not keeping up with the spread of unfair high-price resales on resale sites. Kensaku Fukui is an attorney familiar with the issue of resale of tickets. He tells NHK, 'Online resales are very convenient, but their dark side is also expanding. It is becoming common to see listings at prices several times or even dozens of times the retail price, and ordinary people are no longer able to purchase them at the normal price. There is growing anger against hoarding and high-priced resales.' According to Fukui, resale sites allow listings anonymously. In many cases, they do not respond to requests for disclosure of information about the resellers. 'Many resale sites are structured so that the higher the resale price, the higher the commission they receive, and they are making considerable profits,' Fukui adds. 'They may be held responsible for their complicity in illegal listings. At the very least, they are being held socially responsible.'
Yahoo
08-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Sint Truiden's Leo Kokubo's recent performances putting the spotlight on Japan's young goalkeeping talent
Last summer, Sint Truiden were once again looking for a new goalkeeper. Zion Suzuki, who had joined in 2023, was set to join Parma. Once again, the side turned to Japan to find a replacement. They settled on 24-year-old Leo Kokubo, a Japanese youth international who had been playing in Portugal for Benfica's second team. Despite the sides struggles this season, Kokubo has proved more than an adequate replacement for the excellent Suzuki. Kokubo and Suzuki are highlighting the excellent strength in depth that Japan have at the goalkeeping position. In the past few weeks Kokubo has helped the side win points with some fantastic reflex saves. It has been clear that, as the season has progressed, the goalkeeper has grown in confidence. It will certainly have helped having a strong Japanese core at the club, which has been standard for Sint Truiden since they got Japanese owners. None of those saves may have been as important as the one against Beerschot on Friday evening. With his side having taken a 1-0 lead, Beerschot were awarded a penalty. However, Kokubu was able to save it and in the end the side ran out 2-0 winners. ⛔️ | Leo Kokubo duikt de juiste kant uit en stopt de elfmeter van Beerschot! 🥅🧤 #STVBEE — DAZN België (@DAZN_BENL) March 7, 2025 This could be a huge moment in the season for the side. Dropping points against bottom of the table Beerschot would have all but guaranteed they would be playing in the relegation play-offs at the end of the regular season. Yet with these three points, the Canaries now have a chance of survival on the final day of regular competition. GBeNeFN | Ben Jackson
