
Mainichi: Police arrest seal retailing company boss, members in manipulative sales probe
Police on Thursday arrested the president and six other members of a Tokyo seal and nameplate retailer on suspicion of pressuring people into buying seals using manipulative sales techniques...The seven arrested suspects are believed to be members of the Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity (Unification Church), and in their investigation police searched the residences of Unification Church leaders believed to have been involved in operation of Shinsei. Police accuse the members of approaching five women aged between their 30s and 60s around JR Shibuya Station in Tokyo between October 2007 and February this year, and asking if they would be willing to receive an evaluation of their names. They allegedly made the women feel uneasy by telling them such things as that a curse on their ancestors was affecting their lives, and that bad things would happen to them if they didn't purchase a personal seal. They allegedly sold the women seals for between 160,000 and 1.2 million yen...more...