The ‘Minna-de Oya-san' property investment scheme
6 May 2026
Over the past few days, Kyodo News and other outlets have reported that the Chinese mafia is purchasing property in Japan in efforts to obtain permanent residency. Among them is Ji Xiaobo (纪晓波), who established the Saipan casino resort Imperial Pacific International (IPI) and was designated as the leader of a ‘criminal organisation’ by a Beijing court in November 2023. Recent news reports have also indicated that Ji is attempting to invest in shares of the Japanese defence industry and is seeking permanent residency through a former Japanese minister.
Meanwhile, the winning bidder for Ji’s heavily indebted IPI was Hiroshi Kaneko (a Chinese-Japanese investor whose real name is Jin Song), who established Team King Investment in Saipan. Government documents filed in bankruptcy court and the CNMI Attorney General have revealed that the company is in a collaborative relationship with Ji, raising suspicions of misappropriation of funds.
Furthermore, Hiroshi Kaneko was also an executive at Kyosei Bank and the Urban Research Institute Investment Fund, which were behind the ‘Minna de Oya-san’ property investment scandal that caused 200 billion yen in losses to victims in Japan. Although he resigned from Kyosei Bank in January 2025, he owns a company of the same name in Hong Kong; although the name has now been changed to Vision Synergy Holdings Limited, it maintains a capital and business partnership with Kyosei Bank in Japan.
In other words, the casino in Saipan and the Japanese property investment scandal ‘Minna de Oya-san’ are linked by two Chinese nationals: Hiroshi Kaneko (Jin Song) and Ji Xiaobo (纪晓波). Both are based in Japan. Chen Zhi of the Prince Group, who was also purchasing property with the aim of establishing a base in Japan, holds Vanuatu citizenship.
Vanuatu, a tax haven, used to offer visa-free entry to the EU, but this was terminated on 4 February 2025 following concerns over the proliferation of Chinese mafia within the region. Meanwhile, the number of Vanuatu nationals entering Japan has surged dramatically. Japan does not grant visa-free entry to Vanuatu nationals. In other words, the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs is facilitating the entry of Chinese mafia members holding Vanuatu passports, which has become standard global intelligence knowledge. Why? Surely the Japanese government, which promotes the strengthening of intelligence, cannot claim to have been unaware of this. One possibility is that, just as Ji is attempting to obtain permanent residency by using a former Japanese minister, Japanese parliamentarians may potentially be accomplices of the Chinese mafia.
Annual number of entrants with Vanuatu nationality (annual data)
2014: 76 people
2024: 623 people
Up to September 2025: 709
From @Cambodiataro on X
Main References
47 Reporters, Kyodo News
Executives of ‘Asia’s Largest Criminal Organisation’ Snapping Up Japanese Property… Their True Aim Revealed by Exclusive Investigation: Luxury Mansions and Multi-Million-Yen Flats in Prime Locations… Purchased with Cash, Resold Immediately: Closing In on the Prince Group Amid Money Laundering Suspicions
https://www.47news.jp/14244263.html
https://www.47news.jp/14248818.html
MBK suspends takeover bid for ‘Makino Milling’ – Investment from former Macau casino tycoon (Wolf Pack. Permanent residency visa via former minister’s connections?)
https://access-journal.jp/88876
A tiny U.S. territory in the Pacific doubles down on a giant Chinese casino
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/12/31/saipan-casino-china-kaneko/
