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A 32-year-old Japanese woman has been arrested in Tokyo for allegedly placing thousands of fake orders worth about 43 billion yen ($24 million) at a popular online store before repeatedly cancelling or refusing to accept the purchases.
According to Japanese media reports, Mayu Yoshida allegedly created more than 200 accounts using fake names and used them to place over 2,000 fraudulent orders through the online store of Shueisha, one of Japan’s leading manga publishers.
The orders included figurines and other merchandise featuring characters from popular manga series, including One Piece.
Police said Yoshida carried out the scheme between July 2024 and May 2025. In many cases, she failed to make payment by the deadline, causing the orders to be automatically cancelled. She also reportedly selected cash-on-delivery as a payment method but refused to accept the products when they were delivered.
The total value of the merchandise ordered was estimated at around 43 billion yen, equivalent to roughly Tk353 crore.
The repeated orders caused significant losses for Shueisha, which had to incur courier and delivery costs to prepare and ship the products. The company’s losses were estimated at about $47,500.
Police said Yoshida admitted to the allegations during questioning. She reportedly told investigators that accumulated stress in her daily life had prompted her to carry out the scheme.
She has been charged with obstructing business operations, according to the reports.