Liberal Japan

I’ve added a lot of new articles to this entry as it has been a while since the last update. The news is very interesting today. Apparently, Chongryon will not file charges against Shigetake Ogata. Let’s review this story shall we …

For those who have not been following this story, Chongryon is the de facto embassy of North Korea in Japan. (There is no official embassy because North Korea is not recognized by Japan.) There are allegations that Chongryon previously has assisted in the abductions of Japanese citizens into North Korea.

Shigetake Ogata is the ex-head of Japan’s Public Security Investigation Agency [Koancho], which is charged with monitoring and stopping any subversive activity carried out by Chongryon. They are basically Japan’s spy agency; it’s CIA.

This has been a topsy-turvy story in which first the media was outraged when it appeared Shigetake (ex-spy chief) was helping to prevent the building which served as Chongryon’s headquarters from being seized by creditors. The story then did a 180 degree turn, and the media was again outraged when it turned out Shigetake was trying to swindle Chongryon through some kind of elaborate fraud. However, fast forward to the present and we learn Shigetake, who was described by prosecutors as “crazy for money”, has returned all relevant money received by him to Chongryon. And, guess who isn’t outraged? Chongryon. They don’t want charges pressed against Ogata and supposedly never did! Strange Indeed.

Will the media finally stop fuming and do a little digging. Don’t get your hopes up too high …

New articles since last update:

• 2007/07/16 Chongryon won’t file complaint against Ogata, The Yomiuri Shimbun; “A lawyer representing the pro-North Korean General Association of Korean Residents in Japan (Chongryon) said Saturday that Chongryon would not file a criminal complaint against Shigetake Ogata, arrested last month on suspicion of fraud over a real estate deal with Chongryon. Koken Tsuchiya, who was in charge of the deal, said he gave a written confirmation of Chongryon’s intention not to request the prosecution of Ogata, former director general of the Public Security Intelligence Agency, to Ogata’s lawyer, accepting Ogata’s request. Ogata’s lawyer then submitted the document to the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office. Ogata paid Chongryon 150 million yen Thursday and Friday–100 million yen he received from Tadao Mitsui, former president of the real estate company that brokered the Chongryon headquarters’ deal, and 50 million yen in consolation money. Tsuchiya said, ‘From the beginning, Chongryon never said it was deceived by Ogata.’ He also said he resigned as Chongryon’s lawyer because the case has been settled with the return of the money from Ogata to Chongryon.”
• 2007/07/15 Ogata repays Chongryon, The Yomiuri Shimbun; “Ogata has repaid 100 million yen to Chongryon plus an extra 50 million yen in compensation, according to sources. Ogata allegedly received 100 million yen from Mitsui in relation to the Chongryon deal, which is believed to be a part of payment from Chongryon. Before he was arrested, Ogata said the money he received did not involve Chongryon. The sources said Ogata paid 20 million yen Thursday and 130 million yen Friday, both by check. Ogata reportedly told investigators he decided to pay the money to Chongryon because he learned during the investigation that it had probably been paid by the organization.”
• 2007/07/15 Ogata tied to dodgy defense of Mitsui, The Yomiuri Shimbun; “Shigetake Ogata, who was arrested last month on suspicion of fraud over a real estate deal with the General Association of Korean Residents in Japan (Chongryon), acted inappropriately in defending a company facing bankruptcy proceedings, according to sources. Tadao Mitsui, the man who brokered the Chongryon deal, had filed a criminal complaint with prosecutors in 2004 against a creditor who petitioned for the bankruptcy of Mitsui’s company. Ogata, a former director general of the Public Security Intelligence Agency, pressured prosecutors the same year to accept the complaint. The prosecutors office initially accepted the complaint but later dismissed it, and Ogata then apologized to the creditor’s lawyer. … It is rare that a criminal complaint filed with the help of a prosecutor-turned-lawyer is found to be groundless. The creditor’s lawyer demanded Ogata apologize, but Ogata refused. However, Ogata eventually sent a letter of apology to the creditor’s lawyer in November after the lawyer asked for mediation from the bar association to which Ogata belonged. The lawyer said: ‘Ogata was trying hard to save Mitsui from bankruptcy. Filing the criminal complaint must have been a way to gain control over negotiations with the creditor, but it was clearly groundless. It was an abnormal action that obstructed legitimate business.’ Mitsui was found to have few assets during the bankruptcy proceedings, and only 1 billion yen was distributed among creditors. The Tokyo District Court discharged him of the rest of the debt in November 2005. Takeshi Tsuchimoto, head of Hakuoh University’s graduate law school, said: ‘It’s outrageous that a former prosecutor filed a criminal complaint that was later dismissed, especially because prosecutors are experts in criminal cases. If he knew the outcome but still did it with another intention, it’s ethically questionable. He might have become too close to his client and failed to act in an appropriate manner.’
• 2007/07/13 Contradictory testimony over Chongryon payment, The Yomiuri Shimbun; “Koji Kawae, a former bank employee arrested on suspicion of being part of a scheme to cheat the General Association of Korean Residents in Japan (Chongryon) out of its headquarters and the land on which it sits, told investigators that Shigetake Ogata knew about a 300 million yen payment from Chongryon earlier than he claimed, according to investigation sources. Kawae, 42, who is thought to have been in charge of procuring funds for the scheme, told the special investigation squad of the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office that he reported the payment to Ogata, 73, in late April. Before being arrested, Ogata, a former director general of the Public Security Intelligence Agency, insisted he had not known about the payment until June 11.”
• 2007/07/12 N.Korea Rallies Against Japan’s Sale of Chongryon HQ, English Chosun; “North Korea staged a mass rally against the Japanese government for starting proceedings to auction the headquarters of the pro-Pyongyang General Association of Korean Residents of Japan, or Chongryon. Vowing to ’sweep away’ the Japanese islands, North Korea called the Abe administration’s actions a provocation. It was the North’s first rally against Japan in six years after a 2001 protest against a raid by Tokyo on the headquarters of the Chongryon. Violent expressions against Japan dominated the rally, such as ‘Clubbing is best for a mad dog,’ and ‘We will shatter Japan into pieces.’ This is not the first time North Korea denounced Japan for the auction of the Chongryon headquarters. Pyongyang started criticizing Tokyo when Japan froze the sale of the Chongryon headquarters and its land on June 26. The Chongryon, once a major source of foreign currency for North Korea, is on the verge of insolvency as it has failed to repay 62.7 billion yen to a creditor, the Resolution and Collection Corp., which is a debt collection firm affiliated with the Japanese government. The North looks like it may move to link the Chongryon issue with the six-way nuclear talks. The Chosun Shinbo, a Chongryon publication, said that even if the six-way talks reopen, participants would not make progress and conflict could break out instead.”
• 2007/07/06 Ex-bank worker used money defrauded from Korean residents’ group to repay debts, Mainichi Shimbun; “A former bank employee [Koji Kawae] under arrest for defrauding a pro-Pyongyang group out of its headquarters building and land has admitted he used 67 million yen out of the 150 million yen he and two others received from the group to repay his personal debts, investigators said. … Prosecutors view the confession by Kawae, 42, as proof that he and two others involved in the real estate fraud swindled the General Association of Korean Residents in Japan (Chongryon) out of a massive amount of money in a bid to use it for their personal purposes. Mitsui, 73, a former real estate company president under arrest over the case, received a combined 484 million yen on three occasions in April from Chongryon under the pretext of commissions for mediating its sale of its headquarters building and land, law enforcers said. Mitsui subsequently handed a total of 150 million yen to Kawae on three occasions between late April and early June. Kawae has told prosecutors that he used 67 million yen of the money to repay his debts — 37 million yen to a financial institution, 20 million yen to the father of his wife, 5 million yen to an acquaintance, and 5 million yen to his employer. On June 1, he used 50 million yen of the remaining 83 million yen to pay a registration license tax for the ownership of Chongryon’s Tokyo headquarters building and land to a company run by former Public Security Intelligence Agency chief Shigetake Ogata.
  Kawae claimed that he returned 20 million yen of the reminder after the fraud case came to light.”
• 2007/07/06 Chongryon Tokyo headquarters to move into branch building, Mainichi Shimbun; “The pro-Pyongyang General Association of Korean Residents in Japan (Chongryon) is set to move its Tokyo regional headquarters into a branch office after being urged to move out of its building that has been auctioned off. The building of the Tokyo regional headquarters of Chongryon has been seized and auctioned off as part of the process of liquidating 16 failed pro-Pyongyang credit unions. The group will move its regional headquarters into its Arakawa branch building in Arakawa-ku where there is a large population of North Korean residents. In April, a company based in Kita-ku, Tokyo, auctioned off the Tokyo Chosen Kaikan building in Bunkyo-ku that houses Chongyong’s Tokyo regional headquarters, with a total floor space of some 500 square meters, and its 1,520-square-meters of land for a combined 580 million yen. The company has recently urged Chongryon to move out of the structure. The land and building of Chongryon’s national headquarters, which have also been seized as collateral for its debts, are also expected to be auctioned off.”
• 2007/07/06 Chongryon fighting to keep members, protect reputation, The Yomiuri Shimbun; Good article explaining how current events in recent years has affected Chongryon membership.
• 2007/07/05 Putting Chongryon under the microscope, The Yomiuri Shimbun; Great background piece on Chongryon.

Summary:

2007/06/19 — This story initially started when it was reported that Chongryon had transferred ownership of their Tokyo headquarters, the de facto North Korean embassy, to a company headed by Shigetake Ogata, ex-head of the Public Security Investigation Agency (Japan’s CIA). This was supposedly so the properties could be sold. The transfer was clearly part of an attempt to avoid seizure of the building due to financial insolvency on the part of Chongryon. A question was raised over the transfer, because it was wondered if there were really investors in the wings or not. And why was an ex-spy chief involved? Was there some sort of foul play? In the end, the property got transfered back to Chongryon unsold, because when the story became public most investors distanced themselves from the deal. As Chongryon’s creditors closed in on them, it looks more likely that their headquarters will be seized. How this will affect their operations is unclear.

Prior Comments:

2007/07/04 I’ve updates this entry with four new articles that came out recently, one of them this morning. All media outlets I have checked accept the story that former spy chief Shigetake Ogata was ringleader in a scam to defraud Chongryon. The recent articles are releasing bits and pieces of what this scam would have looked like.

2007/07/02 — I have updated the recent news section of this entry. North Korea says it doesn’t want Japan as a member of the six-party talks because of Japan’s anti-Chongryon actions. Yomiuri tries to show a deeper connection between Shigetake Ogata (ex-spy chief) and Tadao Mitsui (crooked ex-real-estate agent). And Asahi whines at how shocked they are that Ogata may have committed fraud. They say, “While he denies having committed any wrongdoing, listening to the accusations against him we cannot but help feel utter surprise and anger.” They also whined a lot they thought Ogata was helping Chongryon. It would be nice if major newspapers like the Asahi tried to help us put the pieces of the puzzle together as opposed to just whining and expressing shock. What we need is skepticism. Please.

2007/06/30 — You haven’t really been following this case, have you? You basically know it involves Shigetake Ogata (an ex-spy-chief) and the Chongryon HQ (the de facto embassy of North Korea), but you don’t know much else, right?

Okay, so let me explain it all to you.

It all started when Shigetake Ogata went, in the words of a senior prosecutor in this case, “crazy for money.” Indeed, I imagine if we were to ask his wife about his recent activity, we’d have found that late at night he had been walking around the house rubbing his hands together, perspiring, and mumbling about ¥30 million [$243,0033] (The reported vast sum he got from defrauding Chongryon).

Anyway, after Ogata went “crazy for money” he began to concoct a harebrained scheme so stupid and ill conceived that it just had to work. Ogata knew that the North Korean organization, Chongryong, his old arch-enemy was in a bind. The Resolution Collection Corporation was closing in on them fast and planning to seize the building which served as their headquarters. Unless something was done fast, Chongryon was bound to lose the building. The timing was perfect.

Contacting a well known defrauder (whom Ogata had worked with in the past), he stirred him like a puppet over the the Chongryon HQ where he met with Ho Jong Man, their head vice chairman, and Koken Tsuchiya, a former president of the Japan Federation of Bar Associations. Tsuchiya’s usual legal brilliance was not on hand that day as this well known defrauder explained the terms of his deal. “You’ve got to turn the building over to us, see, no questions asked, see, and you’ve got to give me ¥400 million, see, right up front, see, [bits of maniacal laughter - then in a shaky quivering voice] … then I shall find you a buyer.”

Negotiations like this continued for a little while, and when the Chongryon chairman and Koken Tsuchiya began to express a few reservations, the well known defrauder told them he actually had someone who would back him up. This someone happened to be a former spy chief and a former superintendent prosecutor.

“Who is this man?” They asked.

The well known defrauder told them, “Shigetake Ogata.”

The vice chair of Chongryon perked up, “I know him well, he hates us!” and the former president of the Japan Federation of Bar Associations also chirped in, “wow, as I’ve often defended many comfort women, North Koreans, Burakumen, and what have you, I’m sure Ogata as a far righter hates my guts too.” Then, in a cheery chorus the two of them said together, “Now that you’ve got Ogata on your side, we’ll certainly take up your offer.”

Listening in on the conversation all along through special listening devices he’d stolen from the Koancho (spy agency), Shigetake Ogata couldn’t help but laugh at all of their naiveté. His plan was working even better than expected.

But Ogata had made one mistake. He’d underestimated how much attention would be on Chongryon. As he was arrested he would think to himself: “Sure with the North Korea regularly shooting missiles into the Japan Sea, and Abe desperate to ratchet up his falling support, and North Korean nuclear tests, and the abduction issue, and George Bush desperate to make a deal with North Korea — any deal because he’s busy in Iraq, and so on and so forth, there would be a weeny, weeny, weeny bit of attention directed to any sale of the Chongryon building by some of my former co-workers in the Koancho (spy agency) but so much attention. I mean, who knew?” Alas, an oversight on on Ogata’s part.

And, alas, with all this unexpected attention on Chongryon, the building deal got noticed. Of course, people we’re shocked when they found out that Ogata had any involvement with the shady North Korean organization at all. Ogata spluttered whatever lies he could think of, “I did it for humanitarian reasons. I wanted to help them.”

Ha, but investigators were too fast for Ogata, within two weeks, one of the fastest investigations in the history of Japan, they’d seen through Ogata and the house of cards he’d built up came crashing down. His long time career and sterling reputation all for naught, he’d gone crazy for $200,000. And now he was going to pay the ultimate price, his reputation would go down the drain …

Phew! So that’s the story according to the Japanese media.

… And if you believe all that, then please contact me because I think I can get you in on a great deal on the Chongryon building myself, because I know someone who knows someone …

2007/06/29 — There are now four news sources reporting that Shigetake Ogata, aka former Spy-Chief, has been arrested for fraud (see below). He has been accused of trying to defraud Chongryon.

It is certainly possible that all along this was a scheme by Ogata to defraud the pro-North Korean organization Chongryon of their HQ building. So we don’t want to start kicking up wasted conspiracy theory dust needlessly. Greed is always a powerful motivator.

However, a lot of the fury in the press has been directed at Ogata for seemingly helping the Chongryon. Yomiuri’s editorial on the 14th of this month stated, “Did Chongryon sell its building and land, knowing the court would rule against it Monday? If so, the association’s decision must be regarded as malicious. Questions persist as to whether the transaction in question was aimed at getting around expected court orders for the organization to evacuate its facilities and auction off its property. … However, we feel his action served to aid Chongryon.”

Asahi echoed similar sentiments in their editorial on June 16, “The relationship between a former director-general of the Public Security Intelligence Agency and the pro-Pyongyang General Association of Korean Residents in Japan (Chongryon) is truly shocking. … Resolution and Collection Corp., which took over nonperforming loans from failed Chogin credit unions closely linked to Chongryon, has been seeking payment of 62.8 billion yen from Chongryon. … If the pro-Pyongyang organization loses the case, the building and the land would likely be auctioned. Chongryon sold its real estate to Ogata in an attempt to avoid such an outcome.”

So, now we are to believe that, in fact, Ogata was not helping Chongryon, but instead trying to defraud them of ownership of their building. Hm. Let’s think about this for a minute. Hm … give me another minute … OK, now it all makes sense. He must have hated those North Korean sympathizers all along. Phew! What a relief, now I can sleep better at night. … but … just a few more nagging things …

It’s Tadau Mitsui who was also arrested with Ogata, right? Now Mitsui is a former real estate company president and what was his specialty? Just a minute, it’ll come back to me. Got it, I remember now, according the the Yomiuri, Mitsui “was arrested in 1998 on suspicion of attempting to obstruct a compulsory seizure.” Oh, so he’s the kind of guy I’d want to have on my side if I wanted to stop a compulsory seizure. I see.

So we have Ogata, the former chief of Koancho (Japan’s CIA) just kind of naively risking his reputation by going after a former adversary to defraud them for some petty cash … well not petty cash … but at 73 does Ogata really even need the money?

I have some more thoughts on this, but we’ll save those for later. There are some articles in the Japanese press that are not appearing in English with useful background information. If possible I’ll try to give a summary of some of these later …

2007/06/27 — I’ve added a few stories to this entry. I don’t understand if the Chongryon HQ has already been technically seized or if it has just been pushed towards that virtually inevitable outcome. Either way, I think we can expect evictions in about six months. I’m not sure where the new Chongryon HQ will be or how this will affect their operations. Also, I am not clear if the ex-spy-chief will continue to be the object of an investigation. We’ll see.

2007/06/26 — Wow, so they’ve seized the de facto embassy of North Korea in Tokyo. What happens next, I wonder. More updates as they happen!

2007/06/25 — Some new information on this story from the Yomiuri Shimbun (see below). Shigetake Ogata, the ex-spy chief, claimed that he had lined up a potential investor for the Chongryon HQ building. Information on this investor has come to light, and it turns out that he has a record of fraud. So this would mean both the mediator of the transaction and the potential investor were men who had records of defrauding others. … Now if you’re really into god awful conspiracy theories and want to confuse yourself badly consider this — the potential investor of the Chongryon HQ building was president of a company which had on its board of directors Takashi Hata. Who is Takashi Hata? He’s someone who got in trouble last Febuary for (according to JT) “bilking some 100 wealthy people out of hundreds of millions of yen in investment frauds purportedly involving nursing homes to be set up by agricultural cooperative corporations.” Agriculture cooperatives, why that must have something to do with Matsuoka … what nursing homes, you mean as in Comsn? Good grief, you mean the connection between Chongryon and the ex-spy chief is Comsn and Matsuoka? Now that is bat sh*t insane!

2007/06/22 — My opinion is that the dealings between the ex-spy chief and Chongryon probably reveal that there has been a lot of collusion between the Koancho (Japan’s CIA) and Chongryon all along. When I say collusion I do not mean that they were working together on joint spy plots or that there are or were secret double agents. Nothing of the sort. What I am talking about is the typical corruption that exists in so many other institutions in Japan. The kind of corruption that would have served those in the Chongryon and the Koancho but not Chongryon members or Japanese citizens.

There has probably existed informal ties between Chongryon and the Koancho that would have been both profitable for certain individuals and made it easier for both organizations to appear to be doing their job. There has probably been a cozy relationship between the two that has primarily served the interests of Koancho and Chongryon bureaucrats, and only as a purely secondary concern served those whom the organizations are supposed to represent.

So it is no surprise that now that this whole relationship is threatened, we find an ex-spy chief not only getting some nice side money, but working to save Chongryon’s headquarters. The media can feign shock and fume all they want, but most people have got to understand that this how bureaucrats work in Japan, and that’s how politics is played. Ideology, ha, what ideology?

While there are some very obvious reasons why the cozy relationship is being rocked to hell, the real question is who is primarily responsible for the recent shake up. What’s going on behind the scenes? If only we could get some real investigative journalism.

Article Links:

• 2007/07/04 Ogata ‘urged making of false report’, The Yomiuri Shimbun; “Former Public Security Intelligence Agency Director General Shigetake Ogata instructed in May a former banker, said to have taken on a fund-raising role to buy the building and land of the General Association of Korean Residents in Japan (Chongryon) headquarters, to produce a report falsely stating the existence of a promising investor interested in the scheme, it has been learned. The former banker, Koji Kawae, wrote the report and sent it and another document to Chongryon. Ogata was arrested Thursday on suspicion of fraud in connection with the real estate deal. … The contents of the two reports are nearly identical, and stated that negotiations with a 48-year-old lawyer did not succeed. The reports said he was promising at first, but lost contact. But the reports said there was still a promising 41-year-old investor.
  The investor actually was said to have reacted negatively to the proposed deal. On May 26, when Ogata and Kawae met the investor for the first time, he told them he thought he could not invest. The investor also told prosecutors he never promised Ogata investment, the sources said.”
• 2007/07/03 Ogata visited China after Chongryon deal, The Yomiuri Shimbun; “Shigetake Ogata was in China just after signing the sales contract for the building and land of the General Association of Korean Residents in Japan (Chongryon), in an attempt to get involved in the disposal of chemical weapons left by the Imperial Japanese Army, it has been learned. … Ogata signed the contract for Chongryon’s Tokyo headquarters building and its land on May 31. In the deal, Harvest, a Tokyo-based investment consulting company headed by Ogata, was to buy the property for 3.5 billion yen.
  He registered the ownership transfer on June 1. According to sources, Ogata and Mitsui went to China the same day. The two have invested in a local company that disposes of abandoned chemical weapons. They returned to Japan via Seoul on June 4. Ogata and Mitsui have each gone abroad three times this year and they had almost identical itineraries.
• 2007/07/02 Chongryon asset fraud suspects may have faked investors, The Yomiuri Shimbun; “Disgraced former intelligence chief Shigetake Ogata’s aborted 3.5 billion yen deal to buy the head office of the pro-Pyongyang Korean residents group Chongryon may have been based on a fictitious investment scheme planned from the beginning, investigative sources said Monday. Koji Kawae, a former bank official arrested with Ogata last Thursday on suspicion of fraud in connection with the deal, has told prosecutors he was instructed by Ogata to ‘pretend’ to be looking for investors to finance the transaction, the sources said.”
• 2007/07/02 Ogata played major role in scam, The Asahi Shimbun; “Shigetake Ogata, the former intelligence chief accused of trying to swindle the organization that runs North Korea’s de facto embassy in Japan, played a key role in the scandal, sources said over the weekend.” [This article details what excuses were given to Chongryon and Koken Tsuchiya in order to have them transfer ownership of the Chongryon HQ building and pay large amounts of money.]
• 2007/07/02 Ogata allegedly was strapped for cash, The Yomiuri Shimbun; “Shigetake Ogata, former director general of the Public Security Intelligence Agency, allegedly was in a financial predicament that prosecutors suspect motivated him to become involved in a dubious transfer of ownership of the headquarters and land of the General Association of Korean Residents in Japan (Chongryon). Ogata urgently needed to recover at least 300 million yen to pay off loans he had arranged for Tadao Mitsui, a former real estate company president who mediated the transfer deal, to receive, investigative sources said”
• 2007/07/01 North Korea says Japan unfit for nuclear talks, Reuters; “North Korea accused Japan on Sunday of trying to disband a pro-Pyongyang group of ethnic Koreans and said Tokyo’s “dastardly” behaviour casts doubts whether it is fit to sit at six-way talks on Pyongyang’s nuclear programme. North Korea has previously discredited Japan’s role at the six-way talks, which also group South Korea, Russia, China and the United States, but agreed in a February nuclear disarmament deal to work on improving ties with Tokyo. A Tokyo court in June cleared the way for a state debt collection agency to impound a 10-storey headquarters of the General Association of Korean Residents in Japan (Chongryon), a move the group said was designed to force it to dissolve.
  ‘This is nothing but a wanton infringement upon the sovereignty of the DPRK, which no previous regime of Japan dared as it is a move to physically remove the centre of activities of Chongryon,’ the North’s foreign ministry spokesman said.”
• 2007/07/01 Chongryon deal ‘hinged on 700 mil. yen premium’, The Yomiuri Shimbun; “A senior treasurer of the General Association of Korean Residents in Japan (Chongryon), which planned to sell its headquarters building and the land it sits on to an investment consulting company headed by a former chief of the Public Security Intelligence Agency, told prosecutors that the mediator of the deal asked Chongryon to pay a 700 million yen “premium” when it bought back the building and land from the firm, according to sources. Tadao Mitsui, 73, former president of a real estate firm, who brokered the deal, had Chongryon pay 484 million yen, which included half of the premium, a “commission” and other fees, and shared the money with Shigetake Ogata, the former head of the intelligence agency, and another man, the sources said.”
• 2007/07/01 EDITORIAL: Chongryon scandal, The Asahi Shimbun; “As a public prosecutor involved in exposing crime, Ogata rose to the lofty post of superintendent public prosecutor of the high public prosecutors office. While he denies having committed any wrongdoing, listening to the accusations against him we cannot but help feel utter surprise and anger. As an incident that threatens to sap the credibility of public prosecutors, we hope the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office spares no time or effort in getting to the bottom of this case. … ” [A thoroughly unimaginative, whining and useless editorial.]
• 2007/06/30 Ogata case ’shames prosecutors’, The Yomiuri Shimbun; “Prosecutors investigating the suspected fraudulent transfer of ownership of the headquarters of the General Association of Korean Residents in Japan (Chongryon) said Shigetake Ogata’s case had brought shame on every prosecutor in the country. Ogata, a former director general of the Public Security Intelligence Agency, was also a superintendent public prosecutor–one of the highest-ranking prosecutorial officials. The dubious transaction has led to Ogata being charged with fraud, and his arrest Thursday came just 16 days after the case surfaced. Initially, the prosecutors suspected the transfer was fabricated so the group could avoid confiscation of its assets. But observers say the revelation that Ogata is thought to have defrauded both a former president of the Japan Federation of Bar Associations and Chongryon is humiliating for prosecutors, noting it is unprecedented for a former senior prosecutor to be arrested. … Initially, the special investigative squad believed Chongryon, which tried to avoid having assets confiscated through a court order, had falsified the land deal with Ogata. The prosecutors therefore eyed a charge of obstructing court enforcement, viewing Chongryon as an accomplice. … But as prosecutors questioned those involved, and investigated the 484 million yen that Chongryon paid to Tadao Mitsui, a 73-year-old former real estate company president who mediated in the land deal, they began to suspect it was not a straightforward case of fraud. The special investigation squad questioned Ho Jong Man, 76, Chongryon’s head vice chairman, in charge of finance, and found Chongryon had tried to evade court-ordered confiscation by selling the properties at appropriate prices, not through illegal means using a fictitious deal. Tsuchiya testified to prosecutors throughout the investigation the group tried to prevent the compulsory confiscation using legal means, and claimed it believed Ogata would pay the money later. A charge of falsifying a land register or obstructing compulsory confiscation can be laid only if it is proved both the seller and the buyer intended to fabricate a deal. Some Justice Ministry officials and prosecutors argued the public would not be convinced if Chongryon was treated purely as a victim. But the special investigation squad concluded Ogata and his accomplices had cheated Chongryon. … But a senior prosecutor commented, ‘These can’t be the words of someone who has served as director general of the Public Security Intelligence Agency. Mr. Ogata went crazy for money.’
• 2007/06/30 Ogata ‘asked prosecutors to call off investigation’, The Yomiuri Shimbun; “Shigetake Ogata, a former head of the Public Security Intelligence Agency arrested Thursday on suspicion of fraud in connection with a real estate deal involving the General Association of Korean Residents in Japan (Chongryon), asked Tokyo prosecutors to call off their investigation in mid-June, sources said Friday. Ogata, 73, reportedly asked investigators of the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office to end their probe, saying he would scrap the agreement on the deal over the Chongryon headquarters building and the land it sits on. The sources also disclosed that he asked Tadao Mitsui, 73, a former real estate company president who mediated the real estate deal, to write a “letter of apology” to him that he would submit to the prosecutors office. … According to the sources, the prosecutors started to question Ogata on June 12. The real estate contract was canceled on June 18, when the Tokyo District Court handed down a sentence that ordered Chongryon to refund 62.7 billion yen to the state debt-collection body Resolution and Recollection Corporation, which bought nonperforming loans from 16 defunct credit associations serving pro-Pyongyang Korean residents. ‘We’ll scrap the contract and change back the registration of the building and land, so I’d like the questioning of me to be called off,’ Ogata was quoted by the sources as telling the investigators. Mitsui reportedly refused to write the letter of apology to Ogata, saying he did not do anything wrong, but was tricked by those who offered money for the deal. …Ogata ‘wrote 100 mil. yen check after deal. Meanwhile, sources said Friday that Ogata wrote a check for 100 million yen after the deal was signed. Investigators confiscated the check and Ogata’s notebook with entries about the check.”
• 2007/06/29 Prosecutors to establish fraud case over both property, fund, KyodoNews via Yahoo!; “Prosecutors plan to establish a fraud case against former intelligence agency chief Shigetake Ogata and two businessmen on suspicion of swindling pro-Pyongyang Korean residents group Chongryon not only of its Tokyo head office and premises but also of a 480 million yen fund the group provided in the form of brokerage fee over the property deal, investigative sources said Friday. … Chongryon had been looking for a buyer of its property to avoid having the property seized in the event that it lost a court battle filed by the state-backed Resolution and Collection Corp. Ogata retired in 1997 after heading the Sendai and Hiroshi high prosecutors offices and the intelligence agency. On Friday, the prosecutors again raided a number of locations, including Ogata’s home in Tokyo’s Meguro Ward, in search of more evidence.”
• 2007/06/29 Ogata received 30 million yen in connection with Chongryon deal, The Asahi Shimbun; “Shigetake Ogata, a former intelligence agency chief arrested on suspicion of fraud, received at least 30 million yen ($243,033) during a failed real-estate deal with the de facto North Korean embassy, sources said. … Mitsui paid a total of 100 million yen to Ogata, of which about 70 million yen was for a separate overseas investment deal about a year earlier, the sources said. …The remaining 30 million yen was paid after Mitsui received the Chongryon payments, the sources said. If Ogata had known that this money originated from Chongryon, it would provide evidence that Ogata had made personal profits from the bogus deal, the sources said. Before his arrest, Ogata said he did not know Mitsui had received more than 400 million yen from Chongryon until the Chongryon chief vice chairman, Ho Jong Man, informed him on June 11.
  Ogata also said he was told at that time that Chongryon had consigned 10 million yen to Mitsui as a reward for Ogata, which he had not received. According to the sources, Mitsui told investigators that 150 million yen of the 480 million yen went to Kawae. He is said to have returned 20 million yen to Mitsui. Chongryon collected back 200 million yen of the money it handed to Mitsui and is demanding the remainder.”
• 2007/06/29 Ex-intel chief Ogata nabbed over fraud, The Yomiuri Shimbun; “Prosecutors arrested Shigetake Ogata and two others Thursday on suspicion of fraud in connection with the transfer of the ownership of the headquarters of a pro-Pyongyang Korean residents organization in Tokyo. … Ogata, 73, held the posts of head of the high public prosecutors offices in Sendai and Hiroshima after serving as agency director general for two years from 1993. According to the Justice Ministry, it is unprecedented for a former head of a public prosecutors office to be arrested. The two others arrested are Tadao Mitsui, 73, a former real estate company president who acted as mediator, and Koji Kawae, 42, a former executive of a consulting firm who was in charge of raising funds. According to the investigation, the three allegedly were asked to purchase the land and central headquarters building in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo, belonging to the General Association of Korean Residents in Japan (Chongryon) in mid-April. Ogata became the president of the investment advisory firm Harvest, an alleged dummy company. Ogata then from mid April to late May told Koken Tsuchiya, 84, a lawyer who represents Chongryon, there were guaranteed investors in the deal. But Ogata allegedly had no intention of paying the agreed amount of 3.5 billion yen. On May 31, Ogata signed the contract of purchase with Chongryon. He told them : ‘Investors will pay the bill after the registration of ownership is transferred. It’s necessary to transfer the ownership first and to pay the bill after investors confirm the transfer.’ The following day, the ownership was transferred from Chongryon to Harvest. At the time, Chongryon worried the Tokyo District Court would order it to repay about 62.7 billion yen to the Resolution Collection Corporation.”
• 2007/06/29 Ex-security chief held in deal with Chongryon, The Asahi Shimbun; “Prosecutors on Thursday arrested the former head of security intelligence on suspected fraud over an aborted plan to acquire the land and building used as the national headquarters for the pro-Pyongyang General Association of Korean Residents in Japan (Chongryon). … Arrested were Shigetake Ogata, a former director-general of the Public Security Intelligence Agency, Tadao Mitsui, a former real estate company president, and Koji Kawae, a former bank official. … According to sources close to the investigation, Ogata, 73, and Mitsui, 73, are claiming their innocence, while Kawae, 42, has said the suspicions are broadly true. …”
• 2007/06/28 Ex-Chief of Japan Spy Agency Arrested, AP via WP; “The former head of Japan’s intelligence agency was arrested Thursday on fraud allegations involving a land purchase from a pro-North Korean group that he had monitored, officials said. Prosecutors accused Shigetake Ogata of registering fraudulent documents involving a $29 million purchase of the headquarters of the General Association of Korean Residents through a dummy company. They said Ogata pressured the debt-ridden group into signing the land ownership change on May 31 knowing he would not be able to pay the money. … There was no indication so far that Ogata used information from his intelligence career in the land purchase or that the case posed a security threat to Japan. Kyodo News agency said prosecutors were having financial crime experts investigate the case. … If formally charged and convicted, Ogata could face up to 10 years in prison. Japan has been cracking down on pro-North Korea group, also known as Chongryong, as part of efforts to increase pressure on the communist country over its nuclear weapons programs and past abductions of Japanese nationals. …About 200,000 pro-North Korean residents live in Japan, including many who were forcibly brought here during World War II.” [I believe the number of pro-North Korean residents is now about 40,000 contrary to what the AP report.]
• 2007/06/28 2ND LD: Ex-intelligence agency chief Ogata held over Chongryon premises deal, Kyodo News via Yahoo! News; “Public prosecutors arrested former intelligence agency chief Shigetake Ogata and two other people Thursday on suspicion of fraud in connection with an aborted purchase of the head office of the pro-Pyongyang Korean residents group in Japan. … The two others are Tadao Mitsui, the 73-year-old former president of a real estate company, and Koji Kawae, 42, a company executive. Both are believed to have brokered the purported deal between Ogata and Chongryon. …According to the investigation so far, the three are suspected of having registered notary documents to fake the ownership transfer to the Harvest investment advisory company headed by Ogata as of June 1, despite the fact that the 3.5-billion-yen payment to Chongryon was not completed. After the fake transfer registration came to light June 12, Ogata told reporters he had concluded the deal so he could help maintain the operations of Chongryon to guarantee the protection of its affiliates’ rights. Ogata also said he carried out the deal to forestall a possible seizure of the property by the Tokyo District Court, an action that was anticipated in case the group lost a suit filed by the state-backed Resolution and Collection Corp. seeking the repayment of loans after the RCC took over nonperforming loans from 16 failed credit associations that served Korean residents in Japan.”
• 2007/06/27 Auction of Chongryon head office inevitable, The Asahi Shimbun; “The government’s debt-collection agency said Tuesday it will go ahead and auction North Korea’s de facto embassy in Japan to recover tens of billions of yen of debt.”
• 2007/06/27 Chongryon Head Office in Tokyo Seized, Chosun Ilbo.
• 2007/06/27 Court OK’s seizure of Chongryon head office, The Yomiuri Shimbun; “The Tokyo District Court has approved a Resolution and Collection Corporation resolution to seize the land and building of the General Association of Korean Residents of Japan’s (Chongryon) Tokyo central headquarters in Chiyoda Ward, it was learned Tuesday. The court ordered Chongryon on June 18 to repay 62.7 billion yen to the government-backed debt collection body that took over nonperforming loans from 16 failed credit associations serving pro-Pyongyang residents. Following the court approval, the court began the legal process to seize Chongryon’s properties, registering the assets of its head office as seized properties within a week or so, sources said. … Since a provisional execution declaration issued at the time of the June 18 ruling allowed seizure of Chongryon assets before the ruling was finalized, the RCC had initiated procedures to seize the properties, they said. The land and building are currently registered under the name of a limited partnership corporation, Chosen Chuokaikan Kanri-kai. If the court determines Chongryon and the limited partnership corporation are effectively integrated, the land and building will be registered as seized properties. Even if land and buildings are seized, it usually takes more than six months for properties to be sold following auction procedures. Chongryon is expected to be ordered to move out of the headquarters building after the sale’s completion, the sources said.
• 2007/06/25 Ogata trusted shady financier / ‘Would-be’ Chongryon investor told to pay compensation in civil suit, The Yomiuri Shimbun; “A man identified by Shigetake Ogata, former director of the Public Security Intelligence Agency, as the last prospective investor in the land deal involving the General Association of Korean Residents in Japan (Chongryon), was ordered to pay 11 million yen in a civil lawsuit for conducting fraudulent business practices, sources said. Ogata said the man, a 41-year-old investor, was a prospective investor in a plan to invest 3.5 billion yen in the purchase of Chongryon’s headquarters, but later backed out. …The lawsuit was filed in September 2003 by a Tokyo company president, who allegedly said the investor told him his company had capital worth 500 million yen and had received a 4.9 billion yen loan from an ethnic Chinese foundation. They finalized a membership contract, and the president paid the investor about 11 million yen, including an annual membership fee. However, as the president could not use the company’s credit card service, he filed a damages suit in September 2003. In July 2006, the Tokyo District Court ordered the investor, who insisted in court that he had intended to issue the man with a credit card, to pay compensation. The ruling was upheld. However, the compensation has not been paid, according to the sources.” The article notes that the unnamed investor’s company had as one of its board of directors, Takashi Hata. See articles below, 2007/02/07 for more information on Hata.
• 2007/06/26 Japan Eyeing NKorea’s De Facto Embassy, AP via chron.com; “It is unlikely Chongryon would be ordered to vacate the property immediately because it takes about seven months before property is put up for an auction and a debtor is entitled to file an objection, Kyodo News agency said. But the move is expected to deal a heavy blow to the Chongryon amid a steady crackdown on the organization, which functions as Pyongyang’s de facto embassy in Japan because the two countries have no diplomatic ties.”
• 2007/06/26 Chongryon’s office seized, Kyodo News via Japan Today; “The head office of the pro-Pyongyang General Association of Korean Residents of Japan has been effectively seized by a Japanese court for the recovery of debt, sources close to the issue said Tuesday, disappointing ethnic Koreans affiliated with the group. The association, known as Chongryon, decided the same day not to appeal against an earlier related court ruling, according to the sources, making it certain that the 10-story building and associated land of the central headquarters in Tokyo will be put up for auction in the future. The Tokyo District Court suspended any transactions related to the property in a process completed Tuesday in line with a request from the state-run Resolution and Collection Corp, the sources said. The headquarters has functioned as a de facto embassy for pro-Pyongyang ethnic Koreans amid the lack of diplomatic ties between Japan and North Korea.”
• 2007/06/22 Ogata given 100 mil. yen in Chongryon land deal, The Yomiuri Shimbun; “Former Public Security Intelligence Agency Director General Shigetake Ogata received 100 million yen from a former real estate company president who acted as mediator in a failed property transaction between the General Association of Korean Residents in Japan (Chongryon) and a company Ogata heads, sources said Thursday. … It has been found that Chongryon paid more than 400 million yen to the 73-year-old former real estate firm president in April, although Harvest had yet to pay for the transaction. The 100 million yen Ogata received was allegedly part of the money paid from Chongryon to the former president. Ogata held a press conference Monday and said Chongryon had paid more than 400 million yen to the former president, but he had not known about the payment until Ho [Jong Man] told him about it on June 11. … According to the sources, Chongryon asked the former president in April to find someone who would buy the properties. … Chongryon made the payment to the former president for mediating the transaction. Ogata at first told prosecutors he had not known that the former president received money from Chongryon, but he later changed his statement and admitted receiving 100 million yen from the former president. The prosecutors suspect that the 100 million yen was paid for Ogata’s agreement to purchase the properties. …”
• 2007/06/21 Chongryun’s No. 2 man quizzed about HQ deal, The Japan Times; “Prosecutors have questioned the No. 2 leader of a pro-Pyongyang Korean resident group over allegations that it transferred the ownership of its Tokyo head office and premises in a bid to evade seizure by a creditor in the event that it lost a court battle, investigative sources said Thursday.”
• 2007/06/21 N. Korea group’s No. 2 leader questioned over failed sale of property, Kyodo News; “Japanese prosecutors have questioned the No. 2 leader of a pro-Pyongyang Korean residents group over allegations that it transferred the ownership of its Tokyo head office and premises in a bid to evade possible seizure by a creditor in the event that it lost a court battle, investigative sources said Thursday. Ho Jong Man, 72, chief vice chairman of the General Association of Korean Residents of Japan, or Chongryon, was asked by investigators to explain a property deal with a former head of the Public Security Intelligence Agency, a government body which undertakes intelligence work including monitoring Chongryon, the sources said.”
• 2007/06/21 RCC set to seek court enforcement of seizure of Chongryon assets, Kyodo News via Japan Today; “The state-run Resolution and Collection Corp prepared Wednesday to seek a court enforcement of Monday’s ruling ordering the pro-Pyongyang group Chongryon to repay 62.7 billion yen in debts or have its properties seized and allowing the ruling’s provisional execution. In a procedure necessary for seeking the enforcement, the Tokyo District Court issued a performative sentence in line with a request the RCC filed the day before.”
• 2007/06/20 ‘Chongryon paid 400 million yen’ to mediator in land deal, the Yomiuri Shimbun; “The General Association of Korean Residents in Japan (Chongryon) paid more than 400 million yen to a former real estate firm president who acted as a mediator in an aborted transaction aimed at transferring ownership of Chongryon property to a firm headed by a former chief of the Public Security Intelligence Agency, it has been learned. Shigetake Ogata, the former agency chief who heads the Harvest investment advisory firm, held a press conference Monday and revealed the payment.” It is also being claimed that Ogata got 10 million yen for his trouble. Has it all really been about money, then?
• 2007/06/20 Chongryon members at crossroads, the Yomiuri Shimbun; This is a good background piece. Chongryon once number 200,000 but in the wake of revelations about kidnappings, missle tests, nuclear weapon tests and so on, the number has dimished to about 40,000. And many of them are not happy campers.
• 2007/06/20 Chongryon HQ, offices likely to be seized, the Yomiuri Shimbun; This article recaps all the main elements of the story. So nothing new here.
• 2007/06/19 The End of Chongryon?, One Free Korea; OFK basically says, Chongryon is dying because they are in debt and were funneling money to North Korea. The issue of the sale was merely because some people are Chongryon sympathizers. I disagree. With Japan’s ex-spy chief involved, I think the story must run deeper. I find it hard to view Shigetake Ogata as a Chongryon sympathizer.
• 2007/06/19 Dealing with debtors, Asian style, Anpontan; Like One Free Korea, Ampontan gives a fairly unimaginative, straightforward interpretation of the events. Shigetake Ogata is basically a cockroach who was looking to make a few extra dollars. Is it really all so simple?
• 2007/06/19 N.Korea’s Fifth Column in Japan Faces Bankruptcy, The Chosun Ilbo; As noted over at the Marmot’s Hole, this is mostly just a gloat piece. The end though is a little interesting, “…it proved itself still influential enough to command support from a former chief of the Public Security Information Agency and a former head of the Japan Federation of Bar Associations.” Exactly how influential is Chongryon?
• 2007/06/19 Chongryon to go belly up?, The Marmot’s Hole; There is a brief post here with nothing but links, it’s worth monitoring to see if any discussion starts up!
• 2007/06/19 RCC can now go after Chosen Chuo Kaikan, The Asahi Shimbun; There’s little news in this new article, but there is some great background. The Chosen Chuo Kaikan or Chongryon HQ is the de facto North Korean embassy in Tokyo. The article carefully explains why in the past, the government never tried to seize it as a result of debt delinquency. The current situation represents the first time that the way has been cleared for such a seizure. So the question is, if the Chosen Chuo Kaikan were a real embassy, and not a de facto embassy, would the government be able to seize it? This is an especially important question considering the number of de facto North Korean citizens in Japan.
• 2007/06/19 Editorial: Court ruling will pile pressure on Chongryon, The Yomiuri Shimbun; This whining editorial does manage to give some good background on this case. However, here’s how it ends, “The Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office’s special investigation squad is examining whether a bogus registration was made in an attempt to sidestep the compulsory execution procedures, such as seizure of assets, on suspicion of recording falsehoods in an electronic original authentic document. We hope investigators will leave no stone unturned as they uncover the truth behind this matter, and pinpoint who was the brains behind this scheme.” Quite frankly, this is pathetic. What we desperately need is good investigative reporting! So the editors will merely sit on their hands and tell the probably complicity government bureaucrats to do a good job?
• 2007/06/19 Chongryon told to repay RCC 63 bil. yen / Association’s real estate may be seized, The Daily Yomiuri; “The Tokyo District Court on Monday ordered the General Association of Korean Residents in Japan (Chongryon) to refund about 62.7 billion yen to a governmental debt-collection body that bought nonperforming loans from 16 defunct credit associations serving pro-Pyongyang Korean residents. Presiding Judge Tsutomu Arai said it was indisputable that all of the 62.7 billion yen represented loans made to Chongryon by the credit associations. In tandem with the ruling, a provisional execution declaration was issued allowing the court to seize Chongryon properties before the ruling was finalized. Earlier the same day, the investment advisory company Harvest, headed by a former chief of the Public Security Intelligence Agency, Shigetake Ogata, and Chongryon canceled the contract to sell Chongryon’s headquarters’ premises and building to Harvest.” So is seizure imminent then?
• 2007/06/19 Chongryon may lose headquarters, The Yomiuri Shimbun; This article discusses how the deal to purchase the Chongryon’s headquarters fell through.
• 2007/06/19 Chongryon told to pay ¥63 billion, The Asahi Shimbun; “A court Monday ordered the de facto North Korean embassy to pay 62.7 billion yen to a debt-collection agency in a lawsuit complicated by allegations of interference to protect valuable real estate.”
• 2007/06/18 New twist in Chongryon deal / Daughter’s firm used to buy property from mediator of HQ sale, The Yomiuri Shimbun; This is an important issue because something big is going on behind the scenes. However, the articles written in the English press are near unreadable. If at all possible I’m going to do a separate entry on this explaining the ins and outs. Hata got that victim, a businessman in Toyama Prefecture, to put up some 9.2 million yen between February and March 2004 to establish an agricultural cooperative corporation and build a nursing home, promising that 80 percent of the construction costs would be covered by government subsidies, the prosecutors alleged. Hata allegedly told the victim the money was necessary to establish the corporation.”
• 2007/06/17 Payment key to Chongryon case, The Yomiuri Shimbun; This article provides some very nice background material, probably essential for understanding why an ex-spy chief and an ex-bar association chief would help the de facto North Korean embassy.
• 2007/06/16 Financier ‘identified’ in Chongryon land deal, The Yomiuri Shimbun; “A purported financier from whom the investment advisory company Harvest planned to procure funds for purchasing land and the head office of the pro-Pyongyang [Chongryon], is believed to be an executive at a Tokyo management consultant company, it was learned Friday.” So the plot thickens …
• 2007/06/15 Owner of Chongryon’s Osaka headquarters enters bankruptcy proceedings, Mainichi Shimbun.
• 2007/06/14 Prosecutors raid home, office of ex-intelligence chief over Chongryon, Kyodo News; This is a weird story and a bit hard to follow, but probably important. Apparently an a former Public Security Intelligence Agency chief is trying to help save the de facto North Korean embassy in Tokyo. Is he a double agent? Or did he have orders from the government? Or am I completely misreading the article?
• 2007/02/07 ‘Tycoon’ held in co-op nursing home investment scams, The Japan Times; “Prosecutors arrested a man Tuesday on suspicion of bilking some 100 wealthy people out of hundreds of millions of yen in investment frauds purportedly involving nursing homes to be set up by agricultural cooperative corporations. Takashi Hata, 65, who has told investigators he is an overseas Chinese tycoon and that his Chinese name is Ye Jianying, was arrested on suspicion of fraud, the prosecutors said. He has denied any wrongdoing, they said, although one of his alleged victims already won a 50 million yen lawsuit against him.”

Related Links:

• Wikipedia: Chongryon
• FAS: Public Security Investigation Agency [Koancho]

日本語キーワッド：
朝鮮総連中央本部の土地と建物の売却問題