On Mar. 3, Fukuoka Prefectural Police referred to the prosecutors the cases of six people, including officials from three Chinese-affiliated travel agents and officials from three foreign-affiliated duty-free shops, accused of employing guides without proper work permits. The two “guides”, a 25-year-old Chinese male exchange student residing in Fukuoka and a 31-year-old Chinese woman residing with her family in Kobe, led tour groups of Chinese shoppers who came to Japan to engage in what has come to be termed bakugai, literally “explosive buying.” Police have verified that the woman earned ¥58 million in kickbacks between Jul. 2013 and Jan. 2016, while the man earned ¥45 million between Sep. 2014 and Sep. 2015. The woman has since been deported after paying a fine of ¥500,000. One of the duty-free shops has denied the charge, while another has admitted to some of the charges. The police also believe the duty-free shops were giving kickbacks to the travel agents in question. According to Japanese law, foreigners residing in Japan on non-work visas, such as college student or spouse/family visas, must obtain a work permit to legally work. Source: NHK News, 3/3
