Tokyo Swindlers: a fictional look at land-fraud scandals

Tokyo Swindlers, a novel that is the basis for a new Netflix Japan series, is a contemporary Japanese crime thriller that, according to the publisher, unravels an intricate web of deception and greed inspired by recent land-fraud scandals. “Grieving the tragic loss of his family, Takumi is drawn into a real estate swindle masterminded by notorious land scammer Harrison Yamanaka. The target is an unprecedented $70-million property. Detective Tatsu, nearing retirement, discovers Harrison’s strange connection to Takumi’s past. As the high-stakes fraud unfolds, the convergence of motives leads to a shocking outcome in this intense game of deception versus truth.” Following is an excerpt republished with the publishers’ permission:

The property in question was a plot of land in southwest central Tokyo located near Ebisu Station. Its area was a little less than a tenth of an acre. The sales price of some 700 million yen had already been agreed upon with Mike Home. The price per tsubo [3.3 squre meters or 35.6 square feet] was just under 7 million yen, quite a bargain when one considered the per-tsubo market price in the area was over 10 million yen.

The Shimazaki house was a two-story vacant building constructed more than fifty years before. The trees and plants in the garden were unkempt and overgrown. Despite its universally desirable prime location in the heart of the capital, there had been no complicated circumstances regarding rights, as the antiquated edifice, unmortgaged, had been inhabited by a lone elderly person.

The owner’s unwillingness to sell the land notwithstanding, the property was constantly on the radar of real estate agents specializing in this part of the city.

The news that Ken’ichi Shimazaki had moved