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Asahi Shimbun
3 days ago
- Sport
- Asahi Shimbun
Ex-coach accused of defrauding scholarship students
Nihon University's facility that houses its weightlifting team's practice facility in Tokyo's Setagaya Ward on June 3 (Noriki Nishioka) The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department on June 10 arrested Kenji Nanba, 63, a former head coach of Nihon University's weightlifting team, on suspicion of defrauding the parents of scholarship students who planned to join the team. According to investigative sources, in December 2022, Nanba allegedly lied to four parents of prospective team members that he had applied to the university for their children as scholarship students and told them that they would not be charged tuition or other fees after their second year. Then, Nanba, a resident of Komae, western Tokyo, is accused of defrauding them of a total of 2.05 million yen ($14,200) in admission fees, tuition, and facility and equipment funds. Scholarship recipients are determined by the university's headquarters and are essentially exempt from paying admission and tuition fees. According to investigative sources, Nanba collected approximately 38 million yen from 48 parents of scholarship students enrolled from fiscal 2015 to fiscal 2024. According to the university, Nanba spent much of the defrauded money for personal purposes. By last year, the university had refunded the money to the affected scholarship recipients and others. However, in a civil lawsuit filed by the university against Nanba, the former coach claimed that the money he received from the scholarship recipients was a 'donation.' Nanba said, 'Applicants who had difficulty in raising the admission fee or who had potential but had not proven themselves were treated as scholarship recipients if they first paid a donation. I only accepted the donation with the consent from their parents.' The university first disclosed this issue in July 2024. It revealed that Nanba sent an enrollment guide and invoice for payment to the parents of scholarship students with false information, such as 'exemption from payments starts from the second year,' and had them transfer the money to the team's account. The university dismissed Nanba from his position and reported him to Tokyo police. The university's weightlifting team was founded in 1961. It has won the national intercollegiate championships more than 20 times, including back-to-back championships in 2023 and 2024. The powerhouse team has also produced Olympic medalists in the past. Nanba had served as the head coach of the team since fiscal 2000. The scandal is the latest to plague sports teams and the administration at Nihon University. A subsequent internal investigation uncovered similar financial irregularities in the university's track and field and skating clubs. The track and field club had improperly collected approximately 44 million yen from 25 students, while the skating club had inappropriately garnered approximately 24 million yen from 29 students. In both cases, the university refunded the money to the victims. The university said its internal investigation did not confirm any personal use of the money by officials of these teams. According to investigative sources, the Metropolitan Police Department has not received any complaints regarding the two teams. After these problems were discovered, the university released a statement on its website, 'We deeply apologize to the affected team members, former team members, and their parents. We are determined to cut off the roots of the scandal and promote improvements and reforms.' In 2018, a malicious late hit on an opposing team's quarterback by a player on Nihon University's American football team became a highly publicized social problem. In 2021, the then university's chancellor was arrested on tax evasion charges. In 2023, the members of the American football team and others were caught up in an illegal drug case accused of cannabis possession and use of other illicit drugs. The scandal prompted the university to disband the football team. (This article was written by Arata Mitsui and Noriki Nishioka.)
Asahi Shimbun
26-05-2025
- Asahi Shimbun
VOX POPULI: From high-tech cheating to forged diplomas, fraud never ends
The building where the TOEIC English proficiency test was held. The Chinese graduate student visited this exam venue in Tokyo's Itabashi Ward on May 18 and is accused of trespassing at the venue by impersonating another test-taker. (Noriki Nishioka) I remember wandering down a back alley in Beijing's university district more than 30 years ago and stumbling upon a stall selling fake diplomas. The counterfeit certificates weren't limited to those from China's elite institutions such as Peking University or Tsinghua University—they included diplomas from prestigious overseas universities including Oxford in Britain, all neatly displayed in a row. At the time, such illicit practices were widespread in China, treated almost as part of daily life. Curious, I asked the vendor—a man in a threadbare black suit—whether he had any Japanese diplomas. He flashed a sly grin and said, 'If you bring me a real one, I'll make you a copy for free.' So that's how it worked, I thought. To forge something convincingly, you first need an authentic model. It dawned on me once again that fraud of this kind rarely happens in isolation; there are always enablers. In this way, diploma forgery is not so different from exam cheating. What makes such misconduct especially troubling is its ambiguity: The victims are often invisible and those committing the acts tend to feel little guilt. Recently, a Chinese graduate student at Kyoto University was arrested at a testing site for the Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC). He reportedly admitted to taking the widely recognized exam—designed to assess the English proficiency of non-native speakers—on behalf of someone else. Investigators believe he hid a miniature microphone inside his face mask. Authorities are now examining the possibility that he used the device to transmit answers to another test-taker. In a society such as China's, where personal connections often dictate opportunity, access to influential networks are usually the privilege of the wealthy and well-placed. Those without such advantages—the children of ordinary or disadvantaged families—are left to stake their hopes on the meritocracy of exams. For them, relentless effort is the only path forward in an unforgivingly competitive world. And yet, that fragile sense of fairness is all too often betrayed by acts of deception like this. When I think back to that long-ago alleyway in Beijing, I wonder what became of those who bought fake diplomas. Did they use them to land a job or gain admission to a foreign university—robbing someone else of an opportunity they had rightfully earned? In a world already steeped in inequity, perhaps they convinced themselves that it didn't matter. But I can't help asking: Is that person—man or woman—who once paid for a counterfeit certificate actually happy now? —The Asahi Shimbun, May 26 * * * Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.
Asahi Shimbun
15-05-2025
- Asahi Shimbun
5 busted in mass cigarette buying scheme at Tokyo Kabukicho store
The Metropolitan Police Department confiscates about 20,000 boxes of cigarettes in the incident at a convenience store in the Kabukicho district of Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward. The photo was taken on May 15. (Noriki Nishioka) Four Vietnamese men and women and a Japanese owner of a convenience store were arrested on suspicion of illegally purchasing cigarettes through stolen credit cards, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department announced on May 15. The four Vietnamese in their 20s are said to repeatedly have bought cigarettes by illegally using other people's credit card information at a convenience store, which store owner Mitsuyoshi Ugajin, 50, operates. It is not known if the suspects have admitted to the allegations. According to the MPD's Financial Intelligence Center, the five suspects, in a conspiracy with other people, bought a total of 2,823 boxes of heated tobacco products worth 1.6 million yen ($11,200) by using Apple Pay, an electronic smartphone payment service. The account, which was linked to other people's credit card information, was used from Nov. 8 to Nov. 10, 2024, at the Lawson Kabukicho 2 Chome West store in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward. It is likely that the credit card information has been stolen through a phishing scam, which lures credit card users into entering their PIN numbers on fake company websites. OFFLINE PAYMENT SYSTEM UTILIZED According to police, the Vietnamese suspects maliciously took advantage of an 'offline payment' system, which doesn't require verification from credit card companies under a specific amount. At the time, 10,000 yen was the set limit for the illegally used credit cards, so the Vietnamese repeatedly bought 17 boxes of cigarettes at 580 yen each, keeping each purchase under the limit at 9,860 yen. The MPD believes that the group purchased cigarettes worth about 100 million yen for resale from May through November last year at the same store. Similar incidents of criminal groups illegally using stolen credit card information and buying a large amount of tobacco products at convenience stores have occurred in succession across the country. ENTERING CASH REGISTER AND BACKROOM The convenience store owner is accused of facilitating the illegal purchases by providing his store as the venue for the transactions. According to investigative sources, the arrested Vietnamese suspects had access to the cash register and took cigarettes from the back storeroom to purchase large quantities. They reportedly stayed in the store for about three hours at midnight. Whenever they illegally bought the cigarettes, the store owner was said to be present. 'The store cooperated in carrying out the crimes, resulting in such abnormal purchases,' the investigative sources said. The MPD is investigating how the store owner became part of the conspiracy. An expert warns that, 'Each convenience store chain operating company needs to strengthen control over its stores' to prevent these illegal transactions. Yoshikazu Kimura, a professor at Aichi University whose expertise is in the convenience store industry, said, 'It is possible for the headquarters of convenience store franchises to spot these abnormal purchases.' He said that each company has headquarters that monitor sales data from its stores, including the amounts, times and dates. 'Each headquarters has no choice but to severely supervise its stores to prevent illegal purchases,' Kimura said. NEED FOR DETECTION SYSTEM Tomomi Nagai, a chief analyst at Toray Corporate Business Research Inc., who examines business trends in the industry, said, 'The headquarters should consider introducing detection systems to identify abnormalities such as purchases of large amounts within a short period by using artificial intelligence or other methods.' Convenience stores have recently been recognized as locations for crime prevention, offering immediate assistance before fraudulent acts occur and providing a safe refuge for women and children. 'At a time when compliance is required, these incidents will create a negative image of convenience stores. The industry as a whole needs to take measures, such as strengthening identity verification at the register,' Kimura said. In an interview with The Asahi Shimbun, a Lawson public relations department staffer said, 'We take this matter seriously and deeply apologize. We will thoroughly cooperate with the police investigation and try hard to prevent a recurrence.' The staffer added that the company's headquarters can keep track of large purchases of products. "We are consulting with the police depending on the situation,' the staffer added. (This article was written by Arata Mitsui and Noriki Nishioka.)
