The director of a Tokyo-based nonprofit organization has been arrested and sent to prosecutors on suspicion of facilitating an organ transplant without official permission, sources close to the investigation told The Yomiuri Shimbun.
Hiromichi Kikuchi, 62, was sent to prosecutors Thursday on charges of violating the Organ Transplant Law, which prohibits organ trafficking and unauthorized mediation in arranging organ transplants. The Metropolitan Police Department also sent the NPO to the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office on the same charge.
Shadowy organ transplants in developing and other overseas nations have become a serious problem, but the arrest of Kikuchi marks the first time such actions have resulted in a criminal case in Japan.
