Japan MLB Opening Game Scalping Tickets at 20 Million Yen Each? 300 Million Yen Illegal Profit Scalper Arrested

[Financial News]  Yomiuri Shimbun reported on the 27th that a man who illegally sold tickets for the Major League Baseball (MLB) opening game held at Tokyo Dome in March was arrested by the Metropolitan Police Department for violating the 'Ticket Resale Prohibition Act'.
According to the Metropolitan Police Department, a 54-year-old man who runs an air conditioning equipment company secured 72 corporate sale tickets for a total of 6 games, including the MLB opening game between the Dodgers and Cubs and preseason games with Japanese teams, through a lottery. He is accused of selling 62 of the tickets purchased under his and his acquaintance's company names through a brokerage site.
It is estimated that this man gained an illegal profit of about 21.8 million yen (approximately 208.68 million won) through this illegal resale. This is recorded as the highest-priced ticket transaction cracked down since Japan introduced the 'Ticket Resale Prohibition Act' in 2019.
In particular, the original sale price of the high-priced designated seats for the Dodgers and Cubs game was 110,000 yen (about 1.05 million won) per ticket, but it was revealed that this man sold them for about 1,999,000 yen (about 19.13 million won), approximately 18 times higher.
The man reportedly stated in a police investigation that "the company continued to record deficits, so I engaged in illegal resale to manage funds."
The Metropolitan Police Department is expanding its investigation, believing that the man was involved in ticket resale from April 2022, selling a total of 1,067 tickets, including the 2023 World Baseball Classic, and acquiring about 53 million yen (approximately 507.17 million won) in illegal profits.

jsi@fnnews.com Jeon Sang-il Reporter