Police said Thursday they have arrested six teenagers on suspicion of robbing a 30-year-old man in Tokyo in a case known in Japan as "papakatsu," whereby a man gives money to a young girl in exchange for a date.
The group of five boys and a girl, aged between 16 and 19, allegedly stole the man's car worth 1 million yen ($6,900) and forced him to buy earphones and clothes in exchange for not exposing him to the police.
The Metropolitan Police Department is also investigating whether the group also extorted over a million yen in cash.
"Papapkatsu" allegations can have a serious impact on a person's professional career.
In June, House of Representatives member Takeru Yoshikawa resigned from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party after a magazine exposed that he dined and drank alcohol with an 18-year-old college student for 40,000 yen.
The man met the girl at a station in Tokyo on Aug. 22, after making contact over social media, according to the police. They then drove together to a park in Kawasaki on her suggestion, where the boys were waiting.
The girl has told the police that she thought they would get some money but she did not expect the car would be stolen.
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