Two Men Arrested for Hibiki Whiskey Fraud in Japan

Two Men Arrested for Hibiki Whiskey Fraud in Japan

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Japan's Hibiki shortage is proving profitable for some scammers.

As some of you may have surmised, this site’s stated mission of “cultural exchange” and “understanding the real Japan” is just a thin veneer for talking about Japanese whiskey. Your Humble Author is a true fan in particular of Suntory’s Hibiki, whose higher end varieties are getting more rare as Japanese whiskey’s popularity continues to boom throughout the world.

This boom was bound to attract people looking to make easy money – and it has in the form of Sasakawa Hiroshi (29) and Nemoto Takeaki (26), who have been busted in Mie Prefecture on suspicion of peddling fake Hibiki 30 Year to unsuspecting consumers. The two stand accused of using a smart phone shopping marketplace to sell boxes and bottles that are authentic Suntory Hibiki 30 Year boxes and bottles, but that contained whiskey that was definitely not Hibiki 30.

I couldn’t find any info on how the duo got hold of authentic boxes and bottles, which has my imagination running wild. Did they scour the trash piles ooutside fancy high-rises and large houses on garbage day rummaging for Hibiki remnants? Did they somehow stumble upon a collection of used items that Suntory was poised to send to the dump? Did they rip off a liquor store, drink the good stuff, then replace it with a blend of Jim Beam and Suntory Kakubin? Inquiring minds wanna know!!

The two men’s defense: They both cop to selling what turned out, quite innocently, not to be Hibiki 30 Year – but they had no idea at the time it was fake. Time will tell if authorities buy this line. I’m guessing it’ll be a hard sell. In the meantime, if you’re enticed to plunk down hard dosh on a bottle of The Good Stuff, make sure you’re buying it from a reputable seller, and not from a couple of guys with easy access to Suntory’s refuse pile.

(JP) Link: A Different Whiskey Inside; Arrest on Suspicion of Selling Fake “Hibiki 30 Year”

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Jay Allen

Jay is a resident of Tokyo where he works as a reporter for Unseen Japan and as a technial writer. A lifelong geek, wordsmith, and language fanatic, he has level N1 certification in the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) and is fervently working on his Kanji Kentei Level 2 certification.

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