The Raid
Fukuoka Prefectural Police searched an office tied to the designated crime syndicate Dojin-kai in Kurume on the afternoon of October 27, 2026. The search followed the arrests of three men accused of running an illegal sex business out of an apartment building in the city. TNC (TV Nishinippon) and FBS Fukuoka Broadcasting both reported the raid. TNC said its cameras recorded investigators entering the office at 2 p.m.
Police are investigating whether money from the business went to Dojin-kai, the Kurume-based syndicate.
Who Was Arrested
All three men were arrested by October 26, TNC reported. They are:
- a 38-year-old restaurant operator who lives in Kurume
- a 39-year-old Kurume man who describes himself as a company employee
- a 44-year-old self-employed man from Kumamoto City
According to TNC, the case is being handled by the prefectural police's Organized Crime Investigation Division.
What Police Allege
The charge is a violation of the fūei-hō, the Businesses Affecting Public Morals Regulation Act. Under that law, prefectures can use their own ordinances to ban sex businesses from whole districts.
Police allege that from May to June this year, the three men ran the business in two units of an apartment building in Kurume's Hotarugawa-machi district. FBS reported that women employed there gave male customers sexual massages. Under Fukuoka's prefectural ordinance, that area is closed to sex businesses.
TNC reported that the business had no sign outside. Its website called it "men's aroma" and similar names, and it charged roughly ¥12,000 to ¥30,000 (about $80 to $200) per session.
Police have not said whether the three men admit the allegations.
The Gang Link
TNC reported that police believe the group ran illegal sex businesses at several other locations in Kurume too. Police say two of the men, the 38-year-old and the 39-year-old, had close ties to senior figures in a Dojin-kai-affiliated group. Investigators suspect the money went to the syndicate and are looking into who else was behind the business.
FBS reported that police first came across the three men's names while investigating people connected to Dojin-kai.
This site has chosen not to name the suspects. None has been indicted. Japanese law lets police and prosecutors hold a suspect for up to 23 days after arrest before deciding whether to charge, and all three are presumed innocent.
Context
"Men's aroma" and "men's esthe" are labels for massage businesses that say they are non-sexual. Police across Japan say some unlicensed sex shops use the same labels as cover. In June, Fukuoka police arrested people over a men's esthe shop operating in a prohibited zone (report).
This is not the first time Kurume police have tied nightlife money to Dojin-kai this year. In July, police arrested a member of a Dojin-kai-affiliated group. He was accused of knowingly taking about ¥300,000 that came from an unlicensed cabaret club in the city, and police searched a gang office the next day (report). Police have not said whether the two cases are connected.
Sources: TNC TV Nishinippon (October 27, 2026, two reports), for the suspects' ages and occupations, the arrests by October 26, the investigating division, the unsigned shop, the "men's aroma" advertising, the prices, the other suspected locations, the alleged gang ties and the 2 p.m. search; FBS Fukuoka Broadcasting (October 27, 2026), for the Hotarugawa-machi location, the two apartment units, the sexual massage allegation, the prohibited-zone ordinance, the October 27 search and how the suspects came to police attention. All reports were accessed via Yahoo! News Japan. Dollar figures converted at about ¥150 to the dollar. Glossary: fūei-hō = Businesses Affecting Public Morals Regulation Act; Dojin-kai = a designated bōryokudan (organized crime syndicate) based in Kurume, Fukuoka Prefecture; "men's aroma" / "men's esthe" = massage businesses that advertise themselves as non-sexual.