The 49-year-old ex-husband, Tetsuya Komuro, defrauded his former wife of alimony. In August 2006, Komuro sold the copyrights of approximately 806 hit songs in his possession to an entrepreneur from Hyogo Prefecture for 1 billion yen (approximately 69 million yuan). At the time, citing the need to pay alimony to his ex-wife, he first collected 500 million yen (approximately 34.5 million yuan). It was later discovered that Komuro had no right to sell these works, and the Osaka investigation team arrested him on suspicion of fraud.
Komuro met an investor from Hyogo Prefecture through industry contacts on July 30, 2006. On August 7 of the same year, they quickly signed a contract worth 1 billion yen, under which Komuro would resell the copyrights of his 806 works. He then requested half of the payment, 500 million yen, citing the need to pay alimony to his ex-wife, Megumi Yoshida. However, in reality, the copyrights of most of Komuro's music-related works were held by Avex Music in Japan, and he himself had no right to resell them.
The investor discovered last year that what he bought was essentially "an empty shell." After multiple unsuccessful attempts to recover the funds, he filed a lawsuit. On July 23 this year, they reached a settlement where Komuro had to pay a total of 600 million yen (approximately 41.4 million yuan), including an additional 100 million yen as compensation. However, burdened with heavy debts, Komuro was unable to repay by the deadline at the end of September. The investor, angered by this, filed a fraud lawsuit against Komuro with the Osaka District Public Prosecutors' Office. After being questioned on the 4th of this month, Komuro was immediately arrested on suspicion of major involvement in the fraud. Komuro’s side stated that he did not intend to commit fraud, and his defense lawyer responded to Japanese media: "He is honestly dealing with this 600 million yen issue."
According to informed sources, during conversations with the investor, Komuro boasted, "I have powerful people in the industry and even the right-wing groups supporting me behind the scenes." The investor, not believing him, directly contacted the so-called powerful person mentioned by Komuro to confirm, only to be told, "I currently have no relationship with Komuro." Upon learning about this, Komuro believed that "my reputation has been harmed" and subsequently sued the investor for defamation at the Kobe District Court, demanding 100 million yen in damages for defamation. "In short, it was because he didn't want to return the 500 million yen that he initiated the lawsuit," said related music professionals. This action by Komuro enraged the investor, who also filed a lawsuit against him, demanding the return of the 500 million yen. Related music professionals further commented: "When the court required Komuro to compensate 600 million yen for a settlement, Komuro was traveling in London with his wife KEIKO. His credit card encountered issues due to non-repayment, resulting in its freeze. In other words, it's very difficult for him to repay the 600 million yen."