A former head of a pachinko machine certification body arrested over alleged breach of trust received fake consulting fees for work described as "advising on the structure of components," it has emerged. Tomoharu Koshino, 63, a former representative director of the Electronic Authentication System Council, is suspected of causing a company about ¥175 million in losses through pachinko machine development work since 2022.
Koshino instructed that the fictitious consulting fees and other payments be transferred to a company he ran, according to the report. Investigators later found he had signed a consulting contract for services described as advising on component structure.
The Metropolitan Police Department suspects Koshino used the money he obtained improperly to buy a luxury apartment and other property, and is investigating, the report said.
A certifier accused of profiting from the industry it vets
The Electronic Authentication System Council sits on the certification side of the pachinko industry, the body that signs off on the electronic systems inside the machines. The case places the alleged scheme inside that oversight layer rather than among the manufacturers it is meant to check.
Pachinko operators and machine makers answer to a patchwork of certification and police oversight, and the council's role in approving machine electronics made it a gatekeeper for the industry. Police have not said whether the company that paid the fees was a machine maker.