Gifu Prefectural Police have detained a senior member of the Yamaguchi-gumi organised crime group on suspicion of fraud, alleging that he misrepresented a self-inflicted injury to obtain health insurance benefits.
According to Japan Times, the suspect – Masahiro Nouchi, 58 – is accused of severing his own finger in a traditional Yakuza ritual and then falsely claiming the injury as accidental.
Nouchi, who holds a leadership position in the Yamaguchi-gumi’s Kodokai faction, reportedly performed the “yubitsume” ritual, a practice used within organised crime circles to express remorse for significant mistakes.
On Feb. 23, 2023, he allegedly cut off his finger and later told medical personnel in Tokyo that the injury was unintentional. This allowed him to seek benefits under Japan’s national health insurance program, which does not cover injuries that are self-inflicted or intentional.
According to Gifu police, this case could be the first time in Japan that someone has been arrested for attempting to defraud the health insurance system through the yubitsume practice.
Two other senior members of the Kodokai faction were also arrested in connection with the case. Police have not confirmed whether any of the suspects have admitted to the allegations.
Nouchi’s actions reportedly allowed him to avoid paying around ¥40,000 in medical expenses. Additionally, authorities allege that he evaded ¥5,000 in medical fees at a different facility in Gifu Prefecture during a visit on March 9 of the same year.
In a separate incident, Nouchi was arrested in September for using someone else’s electronic toll card to illegally claim discounts on highway tolls, violating Japan’s computer fraud laws.
Focusing on fraud in the Japanese insurance market, in July, several Japanese non-life insurance firms uncovered a large number of fraudulent claims submitted by Bigmotor, a used car dealer that has since gone out of business.
The company allegedly inflated repair bills by intentionally damaging vehicles that had been brought in for accident-related repairs.
Sources familiar with the matter indicated that four leading non-life have collectively identified around 65,000 fraudulent claims from Bigmotor. These claims are part of an investigation into approximately 236,000 claims submitted over several years.
Bigmotor employees were reportedly involved in intentionally damaging vehicles to increase repair costs, thereby inflating the insurance claims. This practice contributed to higher repair bills and ultimately led to insurers being overcharged for services.
As of early July, the insurers had reviewed nearly 80% of the total claims under investigation. Out of these, approximately 30%, or 65,000 claims, were found to be fraudulent.
