Chinese Man Arrested on Suspicion of Smuggling 250 Counterfeit ¥10,000 Silver Coins

The Yomiuri Shimbun

13:04 JST, March 5, 2026

Police have arrested a Chinese national on suspicion of importing counterfeit silver coins. He is accused of smuggling counterfeit ¥10,000 commemorative silver coins made to mark the 60th anniversary of Emperor Showa’s reign.

A joint investigation team comprising the Metropolitan Police Department and the Saitama and Ibaraki prefectural police suspect a group, including the arrested Chinese man, exchanged over 1,000 smuggled counterfeit coins from China, selling them at financial institutions in seven prefectures, including in the Kanto and Kyushu regions, since April last year.

According to investigative sources, the 36-year-old Chinese man, an executive at a clothing sales company residing in Adachi Ward, Tokyo, is suspected of importing a total of 250 counterfeit silver coins in two separate occasions in early April last year. He was arrested on Wednesday.

Tokyo Customs examined the silver coins arriving at the airport and determined them to be counterfeit. The counterfeit coins lacked the luster of genuine coins and had a whitish color.