Tokyo, Nov. 12 (Jiji Press)–Tokyo’s Metropolitan Police Department has arrested five people in a crackdown on rip-offs targeting foreign visitors at restaurants and bars in Tokyo’s Kabukicho nightlife district. The five include the managers of two restaurants, Ekwelundu Ambrose Osita, a 62-year-old Nigerian national, and Arata Kashiwabara, a 35-year-old resident of Yokohama, south of Tokyo. The crackdown, which mobilized about 160 officers, including riot police personnel, came in response to a surge in cases of foreign visitors being overcharged at Kabukicho establishments. In many cases, African individuals introduce victims to these establishments. According to the MPD, the Shinjuku Police Station, which covers the district, received about 340 complaints about such cases by the end of October, up by roughly 200 from a year earlier. About 70 pct of the victims were foreign citizens. In one case, 9.6 million yen was allegedly charged to a customer’s credit card. The establishments managed by Ekwelundu and Kashiwabara allegedly overcharged about 3.4 million yen. On Wednesday, Ekwelundu and one of the five were arrested on suspicion of operating an unlicensed business that entertains male customers. The other three, including Kashiwabara, were arrested on suspicion of obstructing a police inspection by locking the entrance of an establishment. Ekwelundu has remained silent, while the other four have admitted to the allegations against them. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
