Photos of the all-girl pop group Nogizaka46 seized from Masato Tada's home by Kagawa Prefectural Police are seen at the Takamatsu Higashi Police Station in the town of Miki, Kagawa Prefecture, on Sept. 9, 2021. (Mainichi/Satoshi Kawahara)

       TAKAMATSU -- A 21-year-old office man in this western Japan city was arrested Sept. 9 on suspicion of fraud after allegedly conning fans of the all-girl pop group Nogizaka46 into sending him their photos of the stars in a bogus exchange scheme.

       Masato Tada, arrested by authorities including Kagawa Prefectural Police's Takamatsu Higashi Police Station, has reportedly admitted to the charges.

       Tada allegedly asked a 28-year-old nurse in the city of Kyoto he met online to exchange photos with him, and had her send three pictures, worth 660 yen (about $6), by telling her a false name and address in October 2020. The address was for a residence near Tada's, and he is believed to have snatched the photos from his neighbor's mailbox.

       According to the police station, it is estimated that 50 or more fans nationwide have been deceived by Tada using the same or similar methods. The pictures of Nogizaka46 members are sold as a set of five on the group's official website and elsewhere, and Tada told police he "wanted to collect all of them."

       The police station seized more than 200 photos from Tada's home, and officers are searching for anyone else who was conned into sending him photos.

       (Japanese original by Satoshi Kawahara, Takamatsu Bureau)

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