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Kumai Hitomi: From Beauty Contestant to the “Luffy” Crime Ring
Kumai Hitomi had a promising future. But she ended up running with the wrong crowd — and had to cheat and steal to save her own life.
By Jay Allen
A shady organization threatening its participants with physical harm if they don’t do as they’re told sounds like a plot from a movie. But it’s reality for many young Japanese people who fall in with the wrong crowd. Former beauty pageant contestant Kumai Hitomi found herself in that situation when she got caught up in the Luffy crime ring.
Commit fraud for us, or your family gets it
I’ve been listening to Liar’s Jenga (嘘つきジェンガ), a collection of short stories by author Tsujimura Mizuki. Western fans may know her for her wonderful book The Lonely Castle in the Mirror (note: affiliate link). In this work, Tsujimura tells tales of people who either perpetrate or become the victims of fraud — a common and growing problem in Japan.
The title story centers on Kaga Yota, a college student trapped in his apartment during the pandemic. When a friend says he has a way for Yota to make money by selling stuff…
