Police Arrest Woman Over Canceled Anime Orders Worth Billions
The case shows how repeated fake orders can disrupt a publisher's operations, with Shueisha estimating the canceled merchandise at about 4.3 billion yen.
Reporting from 1 source: Animehunch.
Police in Japan arrested Mayu Yoshida, a 32-year-old restaurant employee from Osaka, on Aug 4 on suspicion of fraudulent obstruction of business. She placed billions of yen in orders for One Piece and Naruto merchandise through Shueisha's Jump Characters Store, then refused delivery, using 238 accounts for over 2,000 orders.
Yoshida admitted to the allegations during questioning, saying she is an anime fan and that the stress of daily life built up over time. Placing the orders gave her a sense of satisfaction and left her feeling refreshed, according to police.
The orders ran from July 2024 to May 2025, a stretch of nearly a year. Shueisha estimated the total value of the canceled merchandise at roughly 4.3 billion yen, about US$29 million. Yoshida used 238 separate accounts to place more than 2,000 orders through the online store.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 1 cited source below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.