Police arrest TV personality
The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department has arrested a senior Japanese television network head over illegal online gambling.
The TMPD took Fuji TV’s variety show divisional director, Yoshitaka Suzuki, into custody Monday.
gambling ¥100m ($679,000) online over eight months
Police accuse the 44-year-old Suzuki of illegally gambling ¥100m ($679,000) online over eight months.
The TMPD cited evidence that Suzuki used his mobile phone between September 2024 and May 2025 to gamble online via Eldoah Casino, with baccarat mentioned as his game of preference.
According to the Japan Times on Monday, Suzuki admitted to the TMPD’s charge in a country where online gambling, while illegal, is advertised on national television.
Battle to change perceptions
Unlike other reports from around the world of dyed-in-the-wool gambling-addicted celebrities and affluent individuals getting caught in illegal online gambling activities, Japan’s recent purge seemingly reveals that the perpetrators aren’t entirely sure the vertical is illegal, or that they’d ever attract the notice of law enforcement.
Japanese media reported Suzuki as stating he believed his online gambling “would not come out.”
High-profile busts of the likes of Suzuki and comic Kuruma Takahira over online gambling are signs of Japan trying to deal with a major weak spot over a wrongly held public perception that the vertical is nationally sanctioned.
thought it was legal to bet because “he had seen an ad on the internet”
Many Japanese are essentially unsure if they’re breaking the law or not gambling online. Takahira stated he thought it was legal to bet because “he had seen an ad on the internet.”
The comic’s confusion echoes with that of young Japanese, including J-Pop star Shion Tsurubo. Earlier this month, the TMPD referred Tsurobu to prosecutors, accusing the pop star of betting approximately ¥440,000 ($3,052) on online games.
“I knew that gambling was prohibited by law, but I thought online casinos would be okay,” stated Tsurobu.
The Asahi Shimbun in March revealed a staggering weak spot in Japanese gaming regulation that, essentially, allows offshore online casino firms to market their free-to-play products across Japan’s digital media channels and national TV networks.
Corporate scrutiny
As for the network head under the spotlight, the JP stated internal investigators from Suzuki’s firm had previously grilled the variety show exec over his online casino activity. Suzuki allegedly gave false answers to the investigators and continued to bet online.
Fuji TV meanwhile toed the corporate line, stating it took Suzuki’s case seriously and would “fully cooperate with the investigation and work to prevent a recurrence of such cases.”
