Overview
- Police in Saitama arrested five suspects, including Akitaro Naruse and Toridenri, on allegations they swindled a man in his 70s into buying and handing over 27 gold bars worth about ¥46.08 million.
- Investigators estimate the group’s total take at roughly ¥400 million and are probing possible ties to a mobile, anonymous crime collective known as Tokuryu, while urging bullion dealers to vet buyers’ stated reasons.
- China’s foreign ministry publicly demanded Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi withdraw her Diet statement that a Taiwan contingency could constitute a survival‑threatening situation for Japan.
- The Japan Innovation Party asked the government to take strong measures against Xue Jian, China’s consul general in Osaka, including a possible persona non grata designation.
- The Tokyo Metropolitan Police arrested assistant inspector Daisuke Jimbo over leaked probe data to the scouting group Natural and seized ¥9 million from his home, and Tokai Television opened an external-panel inquiry into its chairman after a magazine report, as NHK reported pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto missed the Cy Young Award.