Overview of the Re-Arrest
By June 17, 2026, the joint investigation headquarters of the Organized Crime Control Division of the Metropolitan Police Department and the Chiba Prefectural Police re-arrested Hiroaki Obata (41), chairman of "Natural," said to be one of the largest adult-entertainment scout groups in Japan, on suspicion of violating the Employment Security Act (introduction for the purpose of harmful work). They also newly arrested two people, including An Sangki (27), said to be an executive of the collection and accounting division, on suspicion of violating the Act on Punishment of Organized Crime (concealment of criminal proceeds, among others). Nippon Television (NNN), TBS (JNN), the TV Asahi network (ANN), Daily Shincho, and others reported the matter.
According to the reports, Obata's arrest is said to be his seventh. Since his first arrest in January 2026 on suspicion of violating an organized-crime-exclusion ordinance, the investigation headquarters has built up its case in stages on suspicions related to brokering and to finances. This series of arrests is seen as shifting the focus to the organization's "flow of money."
The reported contents are all allegations at the investigation stage, and indictment or a finding of guilt has not been finalized.
The Allegations Against the Chairman and Others
According to the reports, the re-arrest allegation against Obata and member Takaki Sakaguchi (28) is that they conspired to broker, around 2024, the introduction of a woman in her 20s to an adult-entertainment establishment in Matsudo, Chiba Prefecture, for the purpose of having her provide sexual services to an unspecified large number of customers. The Employment Security Act prohibits job placement for the purpose of putting someone to work in occupations harmful to public health or public morals, and introducing women to adult-entertainment establishments without a license is being charged under this.
The Crackdown on the "Collection Division" and the 39.2 Million Yen
What newly came into focus in this investigation is the division said to have handled the group's collection and accounting.
According to the reports, An Sangki (27) and others are suspected of having received, from around January 2023 to around May 2024, about 39.2 million yen in cash—part of the revenue—from the manager of a soapland in Chiba City under the guise of referral fees for women, and of having processed the funds to hide their origin by such means as creating receipts in another person's name. The Act on Punishment of Organized Crime makes it an offense to conceal proceeds obtained through crime, or to receive them knowing them to be such.
A distinctive feature of this case is that, in addition to the exchange of referral fees itself, how those funds were processed in the accounts became the target of the case. It can be seen that the investigation headquarters is tracing the path of the funds—"where the scout fees came in from and where they disappeared to"—down to the level of the books.
The specific information reported, such as amounts, periods, and outlets, is based on the investigative authorities' assessment, and the suspects' pleas and the ultimate finding of facts will be determined in the course of the future investigation and trial.
The Course of the Series of Investigations
The investigation surrounding "Natural" has reached into the core of the organization since the start of 2026. The main course of events as reported is as follows.
- January 2026 — Chairman Obata, who had been on a wanted list, was arrested.
- May 2026 — Obata's first hearing was held at the Tokyo District Court, and he admitted the brokering charges.
- June 2026 (first half) — A man (35), said to be the No. 2 and the overall supervisor, was arrested on suspicion of brokering women.
- By June 17, 2026 — The chairman was re-arrested for violating the Employment Security Act (his seventh), and two people including executives of the collection and accounting division were arrested on suspicion of concealing criminal proceeds, among others.
Following the top and the No. 2, the investigation has now reached even the division said to have managed the funds.
Annual Revenue and Funds to Organized Crime
As an assessment by investigation sources, "Natural" is said to have obtained illegal revenue on the scale of several tens of billions of yen a year from referral fees for women and the like, and there is also reporting indicating it reached about 4.45 billion yen (about 4.5 billion yen) in the single year of 2022. The investigation headquarters believes that part of this revenue flowed to the organized-crime side, and is advancing its work to clarify the full picture of the flow of funds.
These revenue scales and fund paths are still at a stage where confirmation is being advanced in the investigation, and cannot be stated definitively. Still, the fact that a structure—in which huge amounts of cash passed from adult-entertainment establishments to the scout organization in the form of referral fees, and part of it further on to an organized-crime group—is the target of the investigation is reported consistently by the various outlets.
Background—An Investigation Whose Axis Shifts From "Brokering" to "Funds"
Crackdowns on illegal scout organizations have until now been advanced mainly in the form of questioning the brokering act itself—"who introduced women to adult-entertainment establishments." That the Act on Punishment of Organized Crime (concealment of criminal proceeds) was applied to the collection and accounting division this time shows that the axis of the investigation is shifting to a deeper level—how the collected funds were processed and where they were moved.
It has been repeatedly pointed out in past reporting that scout organizations have a division of labor "like a company." A division that signs contracts, a division that gathers women via apps, and the collection-and-accounting division now in focus. That the roles are divided means responsibility, too, is dispersed, which has been one reason organizations keep operating even when the top is busted. If the case reaches even the fund-management division, it is expected to have the effect of stopping the organization's "operation itself," while the very structure—in which low-level scouts, and women driven by debt or hardship at the point of entry, are continuously supplied—does not thereby change.
Under the revised Businesses Affecting Public Morals Regulation Act, which took effect in June 2025, the entry point was also more tightly regulated, with such measures as a ban on the payment of referral fees (scout-backs) from adult-entertainment establishments to scouts. From both crackdown and regulation, how far can the "circulation of funds" in the women-exploitation business be severed? This investigation, which has stepped into even the accounting division, will be one touchstone for measuring that effectiveness.
This article is compiled from reporting by Nippon Television (NNN), TBS (JNN), the TV Asahi network (ANN), Daily Shincho, and the Kyodo News and Jiji Press wires. Specific facts are based on the respective reports, and points where descriptions such as suspects' ages differ by outlet, or that remain unconfirmed, are noted with reservations in the body of the text. The arrests are at the allegation stage, and guilt has not been finalized.