Actor Haga arrested over blackmail

Actor and jewelry designer Kenji Haga was arrested Saturday along with three others for allegedly blackmailing a real estate agent into forgiving 400 million yen worth of Haga's debts, police said.

Those arrested were Haga, 45, whose real name is Mikio Toma; Jiro Watanabe, 51, a former world champion professional boxer and an affiliate of a group linked to the Yamaguchi-gumi syndicate; and Toshikazu Kawakita, 69, also an affiliate of the same group. The fourth person was not identified.

According to the police, the four planned to threaten the 51-year-old Osaka man in May 2006 to waive 400 million yen owed by Haga. In June 2006, they met him at an Osaka hotel and coerced him into signing a contract stating he would forgive Haga's debt once he paid 10 million yen.

Haga was not at the hotel, but Watanabe later reported to Haga over the phone that the man had signed the contract, police said.