Masahiro Nakatani is accused of taking 6.5 million yen from five young women. First hearing was September 4 at Tokyo District Court. Verdict is set for October 20. Prosecutors want four years.
The pitch was almost cartoonishly simple. Last July he walked up to a hostess in her 20s in Kabukicho and said he wanted to give her a 5 million yen living inheritance — she just needed to pay 1 million yen upfront for the gift tax. She handed over the cash. He disappeared. Police later found he’d run the same line on four other women.
In court he showed up with a shaved head, looking older than 60, in a designer black T-shirt and tight white jeans. When his lawyer asked why he did it, he went quiet for about 30 seconds and then said a big part of it was showing off. The judge asked him to explain. Nakatani went with Kansai flavor: he wanted to look cool. He wanted their interest by offering money.
He admitted the cash went to living expenses, eating out, and buying clothes for other girls. That last part did not go over well with his common-law wife of more than 20 years, who took the stand thinking her husband was just a construction subcontractor. She was disgusted that the victims were around the same age as their disabled daughter in her 20s. Her line to the court: if he does this again, she’s cutting him off and he doesn’t see their daughter.
Nakatani still claimed he meant to pay everyone back. Prosecutors pointed out he’d blocked the women’s numbers. His answer was that he’s bad with phones and didn’t realize they were blocked. He also said his real job is event planning and he’d repay the 6.5 million yen with advance fees from a future gig. The judge asked how one event clears that kind of profit after costs. Nakatani said the event is huge.
So: fake inheritance, gift-tax deposit, blocked numbers, “I wanted to look cool,” and a mystery event that’s going to fix everything. The court did not look impressed.