Japanese Anime Fan Arrested After Canceling Naruto and One Piece Merchandise Orders Worth $2.7 Million
A 32-year-old restaurant employee in Tokyo has been arrested by police for obstructing the business of anime publisher Shueisha. According to reports from Japanese news outlets including Nippon TV News 24, the woman allegedly placed over 2,000 orders totaling 4.3 billion yen (approximately $2.7 million) on Shueisha’s Jump Characters Store online shop between 2024 and 2025.
The scheme involved creating 238 different fake accounts to purchase Naruto and One Piece merchandise, as well as items from other popular series including Demon Slayer, Bleach, and My Hero Academia. After the orders were shipped, the suspect allegedly canceled them without making payment, causing significant financial losses to the merchandise retailer.
This case highlights vulnerabilities in online retail systems, particularly regarding account verification and fraud prevention in the merchandise sales space. The arrest comes as e-commerce platforms increasingly face challenges from organized fraud schemes involving bulk orders and subsequent cancellations. The incident has drawn attention to the scale of potential losses that can occur through coordinated account manipulation, even within niche markets like anime merchandise sales.