Summary of the Arrest
On June 11, 2026, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police and others arrested Yuto Enomoto, 35, of Nerima Ward, Tokyo — the No. 2 figure of "Natural," described as one of Japan's largest sex-industry scout groups, and believed to be the supervisor of its operations division — on suspicion of violating the Employment Security Act (referral for the purpose of harmful work). The arrest was reported by the Nikkei, Jiji Press, Kyodo News, the Asahi Shimbun, and Higashi-Nippon Broadcasting (khb), among others.
According to reports, the arrest was made by a joint investigation headquarters comprising the Tokyo Metropolitan Police (Organized Crime Control Division) and the Chiba Prefectural Police. Enomoto is believed to have held the "No. 2" position behind chairman Hiroaki Obata, 41, and to have overseen the organization as a whole.
The Allegation
Enomoto's arrest is on suspicion that, in conspiracy with others, he referred a woman in her 20s to a sex-industry venue in Takasaki, Gunma Prefecture, around September to November 2023, for the purpose of having her provide sexual services to an unspecified number of male customers. The Employment Security Act prohibits job placement intended to put someone into work harmful to public health or public morals, and the act of referring a woman to a sex-industry venue without authorization is being charged under that provision.
The facts reported are those from the investigative stage, and the arrest reflects only the level of suspicion. No indictment or conviction has been finalized.
How the Arrest Unfolded
The investigation headquarters had Enomoto on its wanted list since April. On June 10, a tip came in that "a person resembling him is going in and out of a pachinko parlor in Umeda, Osaka," and on the afternoon of June 11, investigators found him inside the establishment and made the arrest. Reports say he was carrying a large amount of cash at the time.
His capture at a hideout suggests that core members of the organization may have been moving from place to place to evade the crackdown.
The Organization Known as "Natural"
"Natural" is described as one of Japan's largest illegal scout groups, running a business that approaches women on the street and via social media and refers them to sex-industry venues nationwide. According to reports, the organization was run like a company, divided into departments such as a "contract section" that developed the sex-industry venues to which women were dispatched and an "app section" that managed the scouting apps. Enomoto is believed to have been the supervisor binding these departments together.
Investigators' assessment, as reported, is that the group earned illegal revenue on the order of several billion yen a year from referral fees and the like, with some of it said to have flowed to organized crime. The scale of that revenue and the flow of funds are still being clarified through the investigation and cannot be stated as fact.
A Crackdown Reaching the Organization's Core
The investigation into "Natural" has closed in on the organization's core in stages.
- November 2025 — The Tokyo District Court handed down guilty verdicts to three of the group's executives and operatives. The ringleader received a prison term of three years and six months.
- January 2026 — Hiroaki Obata, 41, the group's leader and a wanted man, was arrested.
- May 2026 — Obata's first hearing was held at the Tokyo District Court, where he admitted to the charges. In its opening statement, the prosecution laid out the workings of the group dating back to around 2009.
- June 2026 — Enomoto, the No. 2 figure, was arrested in the current case.
With the supervisor now arrested following the leader, the focus is on whether the inner workings of the organization will be further uncovered.
Background — Illegal Scouting That "Becomes a Company"
A common thread among the illegal scout groups that have faced a string of crackdowns in recent years is an operational structure that — though it is a criminal organization — is divided and streamlined like a "company." Splitting up departments, using apps and social media to gather women, and developing the sex-industry venues to which they are referred — this structure has functioned as a machine for funneling women into the sex industry on a scale incomparable to that of an individual offender.
At its entry point are women driven into financial straits by host-club tabs (unpaid balances) or by the hardship of daily life. Scouts dangle "high income" before such women and broker them into sex-industry venues, drawing referral fees on an ongoing basis. Regulation is being tightened — the revised Businesses Affecting Public Morals Regulation Act (fuei-ho) that took effect in June 2025 prohibits "scout-back" payments (referral fees paid from sex-industry venues to scouts), among other measures — but breaking the chain of supply and demand requires confronting the exploitative structure at the entry point itself.
The series of investigations into large scout organizations such as "Natural" — and "Access," which was likewise cracked down on — lies on a continuum of efforts to make the realities of this woman-exploiting business visible and to hold its ringleaders accountable. As both the top and the core of these organizations are brought before the courts in succession, the judiciary's stance toward illegal scouting will be shown ever more clearly.
This article is compiled from reporting by the Nikkei, Jiji Press, Kyodo News, the Asahi Shimbun, Higashi-Nippon Broadcasting (khb), and others. Specific facts are based on those reports, and points that conflict or remain unconfirmed are noted with reservations in the text. An arrest reflects only the level of suspicion; no conviction has been finalized.