Kanagawa prefectural police on Thursday announced the rearrest of a 27-year-old Chinese national on suspicion of forging My Number cards and residence cards. The man, identified as Wei Lesi, is unemployed and lives in Higashiyamacho, Itabashi Ward, Tokyo.
He is suspected of forging seven My Number cards and four residence cards at his home between around July 5 and around August 30. Police have not disclosed whether he admits or denies the allegations, but say he has said in substance that a Chinese acquaintance invited him and that he took part for money.
My Number is Japan's national identification number, issued to every resident including foreign nationals, and the plastic card carrying it is used for administrative procedures and identity checks. Police seized about 280 forged cards from the home, along with about 1,700 blank cards used as material for forgeries.
They also seized about 600 cards that arrived in international mail from China, the prefectural police said.
A role inside an organization
According to the prefectural police's international investigation division, Wei held the job of making forged identity documents within a criminal organization that also has a base in mainland China.
In the scheme police describe, someone bought smartphones from an online store. Wei made fake ID documents, and a "receiver" used them to collect the phones held at a delivery office. A "collector" then resold the phones. Police believe a "handler" coordinated the operation.
Forged cards were hidden under rocks or in the soil in parking lots and vacant lots before being handed over, according to the account.
How the case surfaced
In July 2025, a receiver used a forged driver's license to collect a package at a post office in Minami Ward, Yokohama. A post office employee pointed out the discrepancy, and the person left the card behind and fled, which led to the case coming to light.
Wei had already been arrested and indicted on August 31 and September 30 this year on suspicion of using forged official documents and fraud. Police are investigating the fraudulent purchase and resale of smartphones and the organization's ties to its base in China.