Woman Arrested For Placing Over 2,000 Fake Orders on Online Manga Store in Less Than a Year
Shueisha Inc., one of Japan’s largest manga publishers, says it suffered major losses because of one customer’s actions.
The woman allegedly placed thousands of orders through the company’s online store. She either refused the deliveries or allowed the orders to expire without paying.
The products she ordered were worth about 4.3 billion yen, or $27 million. She reportedly did not pay for any of them.
Police arrested 32-year-old Mayu Yoshida, a restaurant worker from Osaka, for allegedly disrupting Shueisha’s business.
Between 2024 and 2025, Yoshida reportedly created 238 different accounts and used them to place more than 2,000 orders. Investigators believe she knew that she would never complete the purchases.
Yoshida reportedly took advantage of Japan’s convenience store payment system. The system allows customers to order products online and pay for them later at a convenience store.
If the customer does not pay within a set period, the order is automatically cancelled. However, processing and reserving the products can still create costs for the seller.
Yoshida also reportedly selected cash on delivery for some orders. She then refused to accept the packages when they arrived.
Shueisha estimates that her actions caused a direct loss of about 7.5 million yen, or $47,000, in fees. The company may have also lost genuine sales because products connected to her orders appeared as “out of stock” on its website.
Police arrested Yoshida following an investigation that lasted about a year. She admitted placing more than 2,000 orders through 238 accounts.
However, she said she did it to cope with stress rather than to harm the publisher.
“I do not have any resentment towards Shueisha,” the 32-year-old woman said. “I have been feeling stressed from daily life, and I felt a sense of satisfaction and refreshment from ordering items before they sold out.”
A fake online shopping platform, which allows users to shop without spending real money, may provide a safer option for people dealing with similar urges.
