First yakuza arrested in huge crackdown on child porn ring

The Mainichi Shimbun
March 24, 2008
Source: http://mdn.mainichi.jp/national/news/20080324p2a00m0na022000c.html

NAGOYA -- A member of the Sumiyoshi-kai yakuza crime syndicate has been arrested in connection with a crackdown on a child porn ring, police said.

Kenjiro Watanabe, 40, the yakuza resident of Tokyo's Nakano-ku, was arrested for breaking the law banning child pornography and for the sale of indecent images.

Watanabe, who denies the allegations against him, is the 12th person to be arrested in the crackdown, but the first who is a member of a designated crime syndicate.

Police said that on five occasions from April last year until January Watanabe conspired with IT company president Satoshi Takaboshi to sell child pornography. They sold child pornography and DVDs with indecent images to five people, charging 1,000 yen per DVD, of which they sold 27 altogether, police said.

Takaboshi, 30, has already been indicted on the same charges laid on Watanabe.

(Mainichi Japan) March 24, 2008