Gangster trio held for confining ex-Nova president in hotel room
TOKYO —
A 38-year-old member of organized crime syndicate Yamaguchi-gumi and two other men were arrested on Monday for forcibly confining Nozomu Sahashi, 58, former president of English conversation school chain Nova Corporation, police said Tuesday.
Sahashi traveled to Tokyo last Friday and his lawyers became concerned when they were no longer able to contact him. They contacted police who found out he was being held against his will in a hotel room in Nihonbashi. Police freed Sahashi at around 3 p.m. Monday.
Ryuichi Mimura, 38, a member of the Yamaguchi-gumi, and two other men were arrested for illegally confining Sahashi between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m Monday. Mimura was quoted by police as saying: “We were just with him, we weren’t keeping him in the room.” Sahashi was not injured in the incident, police said.
Sahashi was found guilty of embezzlement by the Osaka District Court in August, after redirecting 320 million yen from the Nova employee’s welfare program to a company account to facilitate the payment of refunds to students in 2007. He was sentenced to 3 1/2 years in jail but has appealed the decision.
News reports
Order by Time Order by Popularity
35 Comments
Login to comment
0
timorborder
So perhaps somebody was not just ripping off his students and employees? Then again, these 3 individuals might just have wanted to get their unused lesson fees back.
Just out of interest, Saruhashi had better hope that his appeal works. With the largest Yakuza syndicate in Japan after his blood, 3 1/2 years in the can would not be much fun.
0
tmarie
Guess someone didn't pay his bills. Japan needs to wake up to the fact that the yaks pretty much are lawless and run many large companies.
0
cadmium
There was a rumour that Nova could get the best branch locations near stations because the yakuza owned those buildings and Sahashi did a deal with them whereby in exchange for the office space he would use their subsidiary companies to buy furniture and indoor plants at incredibly inflated prices. Even if it's not true, this news story shows Sahashi was doing something with the yakuza.
0
Triumvere
...well, well, well. This is educational.
0
kokorocloud
... oh wow. That just makes the whole thing that much shadier than it already was.
0
Yelnats
Maybe they just wanted to get their trophies and memorable back.
0
Klein2
"Sahashi did a deal with them whereby in exchange for the office space he would use their subsidiary companies to buy furniture and indoor plants at incredibly inflated prices."
Yakuza? That sounds like business as usual in Japan to me. To be an honest businessman in Japan, you have to stay small, that is all there is to it. All the wining and dining and nepotism and fees and regulations. You have to be a genius to do it without cutting corners, but you eventually run afoul of someone somewhere who will flip you for birdseed. Throw in a few lazy employees, and very soon it is no fun and no profit.
Although I would never do it, if you do decide to go to the dark side, you might as well go all the way, you never really have a choice anyway... and that is where Guido and the boys come in. Live and die by the sword. I will stick to farming.
0
Disillusioned
Um, why isn't this joker locked up? Is he free to do as he pleases until his appeal goes through? The connection between NOVA and the Yaks is common knowledge. My bet is, they were after their cut of his Canary Islands cash stash.
0
wontond
Payback's a bitch.
0
Betting
It would be great to know the real reason why they were together.
And those rumours about NOVA getting the best real estate thanks to Yakuza connections were around when I first arrived in Japan nearly 18 years ago.
0
Osakadaz
always suspected that NOVA was hand-in-hand with the yakuza.Their way of operating was just too similar to ignore,for a start.Sahashi is as dodgy as a two-bob watch,too.It sounds like he needs to pay his dues to more than just his former employess and students.
0
S7ro9kGm3aQ
And now the Yakuza are involved. How unsurprising is that.
0
betterdays
wat is false imprisonment anywayz!!
0
elbudamexicano
During the "Bubble economy" it was common knowledge that any ding bat yakuza could come up with making Eikaiwa English schools, take in as much money as possible and when things turned sour, the yakuza and the owners off all of these "English schools" suddenly dissapered, so Saruhashi owing money to Japan's biggest mafia, the Yamaguchi gumi kai, is no surprise, no surprise at all!
0
Phillyprnc
"Maybe they just wanted to get their trophies and memorable back."
HA HA HA!!! THAT made me laugh out loud!! thanks!!!
0
shinjiikari45
they were probably playing sudoku inside the hotel room...hehe... :)
0
dbung10
***Sahashi was not injured in the incident**** shame
0
ratpack
I thought it was common knowledge that the real owners of Nova were the yakuza. Very easy way to clean money, and besides why do you think Nova could afford the over the top advertising they plastered all about every town and magazine. Explains why they had him holed up in a room. Seems to me he didn't embezzle from the English school..he embezzled from the yakuzas.
0
bobbafett
he must have something stashed offshore that the Yaks could get out of him.
0
Jbizzle
Yeinats: classic. I miss OJ.
0
Cicada
ratpack:
Yes, many guys would be told to sign up, never show up for lessons, and take the refund, or not even bother with the refund, since it's Yamaguchi money anyway. NOVA was a good money laundering front.
klein2
Yet another scheme to launder money. Who knows just how many schemes they had in play?
Did he take money from them, or are they worried he may be talking too much? Interesting.
0
knews
I'd always heard that Nova was connected with dodgy loan companies (like Aiful and Acom) so students could easily get credit to pay for lessons in instalments... That would possibly explain gangster links to Sa(ru)hashi.
0
usaexpat
Must be Sahashi owes the yaks some money.
0
tokyotom
maybe they had voice room tickets they couldn't use they sure can't type where is anders lundquist?
0
isthistheend
I think they just wanted him to introduce them to a nice looking female English teacher or two.
0
Scrote
I suspect Mr Sahashi was just about to commit "suicide" before the police arrived.
0
Yelnats
Maybe they just wanted to get their trophies and memorable back.
0
Youdontknow
If he was sentenced to prison time, why is he not there now?
Back to top