Saitama prefectural police on Thursday announced the arrest of four people, including a 24-year-old company employee from Kitamoto, on suspicion of violating the Waste Management and Public Cleansing Act by dumping industrial waste in woodland.
The employee, Ryoto Yamaguchi, and the three others are suspected of burying about 3.6 tons of waste plastic and other industrial waste in the ground on two occasions in a wooded area of Nakafukuji, Kawagoe, between December 24 and 30, 2025. Police have not disclosed whether the suspects admit or deny the allegations.
According to police, the woodland had been used as a materials storage site by a metal trading company in Konosu where Yamaguchi previously worked. Yamaguchi is suspected of taking on the transport and disposal of waste from painting work without a prefectural license, and of charging about half the going rate.
The case came to light in April this year, when the company's president reported that an employee appeared to have buried garbage at the storage site. Police believe there are further offenses and are continuing to investigate.