Tokyo police have arrested a 30-year-old firefighter from Kamakura City, Kanagawa Prefecture, on suspicion of unauthorized use of private stamps by posing as a reporter from the Asahi Shimbun to cover college baseball cheerleaders.
According to the Metropolitan Police Department, Daichi Nomiyama admitted to the allegations, saying, “I thought I would get more interviews by claiming to be from Asahi Shimbun rather than as a freelancer.”
Nomiyama allegedly used fake business cards bearing the name of a former newspaper employee, police said Wednesday.
The arrest is related to an April 8 incident in which Nomiyama is suspected of handing out a business card with the former Asahi Shimbun reporter’s name to a member of a college baseball cheer squad at Tokyo’s Meiji Jingu Stadium .
Police said Nomiyama had been posing as a newspaper reporter since April and repeatedly conducted interviews with members of various university cheerleading teams.
University officials suspicious of Nomiyama contacted Asahi Shimbun to confirm his identity, leading to the discovery that the employee featured on the business card had already left the company.
Police have seized business cards and a press bracelet from Nomiyama’s home and are investigating the details of the forgery.
In a statement, Asahi Shimbun’s PR department said: “It is truly unfortunate if false interview requests were made using a business card with our former employee’s name.”
Kamakura officials said: “We will ensure compliance awareness is strengthened and work to prevent recurrence.”
Translated by The Japan Times
