crime

Mother and son in Japan arrested for running counterfeit Pokemon operation

15 Comments
By Casey Baseel, SoraNews24

For the first few years of a child’s life, their parents are pretty much their entire social circle. But before long they grow up and start spending more and more time with the friends they make at school and work, usually because they share more common interests.

So it’s almost heartwarming to hear about an adult man in Kyoto who took up a new activity last year, and has been sharing the experience with his mom, who’s also been active in the project. Almost heartwarming, because the purpose of their teamwork was to sell counterfeit Pokemon merchandise.

On Sept 10, the police in Ikegami, Tokyo, announced that they are filing charges against a 23-year-old male office worker from Kyoto and his mother, a 49-year-old part-time worker and resident of Miki City, Hyogo Prefecture. Since last fall, the pair have been importing knockoff Pokemon trading card game playmats from China and reselling them on e-commerce sites to customers in Japan.

As is often the case in Japan, the public display of seized evidence was neatly arranged, giving it the feeling more of an otaku’s in-home character shrine than proof of criminal activity.

The mother-and-son team divided up the labor for their operation, with the son in charge of purchasing the knockoff goods and Mom handling shipping to customers in Japan. They paid about 700 yen for each mat, and resold them for roughly 3,000 yen a piece.

▼ Some might argue that markup alone is practically criminal, since you can get officially licensed Pokemon card game play mats like this one directly from the official Pokemon Center Online shop for 2,750 yen.

PC-2.jpg
Photo: Pokemon Center Online

The pair managed to earn roughly two million yen in less than a year of running the scheme. The involvement of the Ikegami police, located in Tokyo’s Ota-ku, the same ward where Haneda Airport is located, could indicate that an interception of an incoming cargo shipment from China is what led to the investigation that foiled the illicit enterprise.

The two have admitted to the charges, with the son explaining his motivation as “I did it to make money” and the mother with “I did I because I wanted my son to make money.” 

Sources: Kyodo via Hachima KikoTele Asa News/Yahoo! News Japan

Read more stories from SoraNews24.

-- Otaku crime: Kyoto police arrest man for selling counterfeit ultra-rare Yu-Gi-Oh! card

-- U.S. government officials catch 86,400 Pokémon bootlegs without using a single Poké Ball

-- Captured Tokyo panty thief denies having any interest in bras

© SoraNews24

©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.

15 Comments
Login to comment

Defending intellectual property rights by going after such small timers just seems like a complete waste of time to me. I think that so long as they make it clear they sell knock offs they should be left alone. Naturally that was not an option so its not what they did. But if it were an option they might well have and the world would just keep turning.

1 ( +5 / -4 )

Must be kidding me, over half the items sold on all major e-commerce sites are FAKE.

7 ( +7 / -0 )

Proof that Chinese products are much better than Japanese made ones.

-2 ( +5 / -7 )

This is what happens when you sell stuff with Japanese IP. Had they sold a fake version of something foreign, say My Little Pony, they wouldn't be caught as fast.

6 ( +6 / -0 )

Some might argue that markup alone is practically criminal, since you can get officially licensed Pokemon card game play mats like this one directly from the official Pokemon Center Online shop for 2,750 yen.

I think they should arrest their customers too.

-3 ( +2 / -5 )

Cheeky.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Go after their china suppliers too. Confiscate their bank account.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

the son explaining his motivation as “I did it to make money” and the mother with “I did I because I wanted my son to make money.

I really find Japanese criminals amusing. They are so comically direct in admitting their crimes and for giving clear, precise reasons for doing so. LOL!

4 ( +4 / -0 )

 I think that so long as they make it clear they sell knock offs they should be left alone. 

I'm pretty sure that would have gotten them caught even faster as I think it's illegal to sell unofficially licensed goods.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

The two have admitted to the charges, with the son explaining his motivation as “I did it to make money” and the mother with “I did I because I wanted my son to make money.” 

I have to assume they weren't coerced...lol.

And China continues to be the product counterfeiter to the world. IP? What's that?

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Shoudve called it pokechu from pikamon and they couldve gotten away with it. Surprised how many knockoffs fly under the radar.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Where does Nintendo make a large proportion of its goods then?

Not Japan for sure.

-3 ( +0 / -3 )

Login to leave a comment

Facebook users

Use your Facebook account to login or register with JapanToday. By doing so, you will also receive an email inviting you to receive our news alerts.

Facebook Connect

Login with your JapanToday account

User registration

Articles, Offers & Useful Resources

A mix of what's trending on our other sites