The Metropolitan Police Department headquarters is seen in this file photo. (Mainichi/Kenji Yoneda)

       TOKYO -- Police reported a food company in Tokyo known for its curry products and a 52-year-old hiring manager at its factory north of the capital to public prosecutors on Dec. 17 on suspicion of violating the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act by having six Nepali nationals illegally work at the factory.

       The first organized crime control division of the Metropolitan Police Department sent prosecutors papers on Nakamuraya Co. and the hiring manager at the factory in Kuki, Saitama Prefecture. Police suspect that the company had at least 40 individuals, including Nepali and Vietnamese nationals, work there illegally since around 2018.

       Between November 2018 and June 2021, the company and hiring manager allegedly had six Nepali men in their 20s and 30s, who were dispatched from a staffing agency, manufacture steamed meat buns and engage in other work at the Saitama factory with the knowledge that they were partaking in activities outside the scope of their residency statuses.

       According to the MPD, the six individuals had obtained residency statuses to work as interpreters. The hiring manager has reportedly admitted to the allegations, saying, "I knew that it was illegal, but had them work in order to resolve labor shortages."

       Senior officials of the company were unaware of the unlawful employment. During voluntary questioning, President Tatsuya Suzuki commented that he would "like to review the work system, and make use of the current situation to educate employees."

       (Japanese original by Makoto Kakizaki, Tokyo City News Department)

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