The president of a Tokyo-based staffing agency and two others were arrested for allegedly dispatching a Cambodian trainee who had fled his job to work for a major trucking company, reports The Mainichi, citing an announcement by the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department on 29 September. The MPD's international crimes section arrested Yuichi Takahashi, 58, the president of Emuzu, a temp agency based in the capital's Katsushika Ward, and two others on suspicion of violating the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act.

According to investigative sources, approximately 200 foreigners were dispatched to Fukuyama Transporting Co.'s branch office in Saitama Prefecture between November 2018 and June 2023, generating approximately JPY 120 million (approximately $801,270) in revenue. It is believed that a number of them were illegal workers. The three are specifically accused of sending a 33-year-old Cambodian man who had fled from his technical internship site to work at a Fukuyama Transporting delivery centre in Saitama Prefecture from March to June 2023.

Takahashi and a female suspect reportedly denied the allegations, while the remaining male suspect, an executive in charge of recruitment, apparently admitted to the misdeeds. The MPD's international crimes section will also investigate whether Fukuyama Transporting was aware of the illegal employment.