Overview
- Tokyo’s environmental crimes unit arrested the shop owner and his manager on suspicion of breaking the endangered‑species law after the alleged capture of four Ryukyu pond turtles in Okinawa in October 2024.
- Police say the animals tied to the case were moved into the suspects’ business, with six turtles sent to their pet shop in Tsuchiura, Ibaraki.
- Owner Toshihiro Komuro, 49, has admitted the allegations, while manager Ayano Otake, 37, denies them, according to investigators.
- Investigators say Komuro told them he sold the turtles to buyers in China, with each animal fetching about ¥100,000.
- Komuro was also arrested over the suspected capture of two Kuroiwa geckos, a prefecture‑designated natural monument, in October and November 2024.