WBC Tokyo Tournament Tickets Resold at High Prices, Japanese Police Arrest 2 Scalpers

WBC Baseball Classic Key News

(Central News Agency reporter Dai Ya-chen, Tokyo, 17th) For the World Baseball Classic (WBC) Tokyo tournament held at Tokyo Dome in March this year, tickets for Japan's games were resold at high prices for profit. The Metropolitan Police Department today referred a 51-year-old man and a 33-year-old woman to prosecutors on suspicion of violating the 'Act on Prohibition of Unauthorized Resale of Tickets,' marking the first such case of illegal ticket resale for this Classic.

Yomiuri Shimbun reported that police indicated the 51-year-old man is a company employee from Nishitokyo City, and the 33-year-old woman is a self-employed individual from Shinjuku Ward. Both are suspected of selling popular tickets, including those for Japan's games, through resale websites without the organizer's permission.

Police estimate that the man resold 64 tickets, including those for the Classic's Japan team and the professional baseball Giants team games, with an original price of approximately 430,000 yen, illegally profiting as much as approximately 5.16 million yen (about 1.02 million New Taiwan dollars); the woman resold 41 tickets, with an original price of approximately 260,000 yen, illegally profiting approximately 1.02 million yen.

Investigations showed that among the tickets resold by the two scalpers, the man resold a total of 6 tickets for 3 games, including WBC Japan vs. Taiwan, and last year's Major League Baseball (MLB) overseas opening series Cubs vs. Dodgers, between March 12 last year and January 17 this year. The original price was about 190,000 yen, and he resold them to 3 people for about 1.52 million yen.

The woman, between January 24 and 25 this year, resold 6 tickets for 3 games, including Japan vs. Taiwan, Korea, and the Czech Republic. The original price was about 130,000 yen, and she resold them to 3 people for about 830,000 yen.

The WBC Tokyo tournament was held from March 5 to 10, with Japan, Taiwan, Korea, Australia, and the Czech Republic participating. The Japanese team, led by star players like Shohei Ohtani, significantly boosted ticket demand.

Police stated that the two purchased tickets under their personal names and as professional baseball Giants season ticket holders, respectively, and then resold them. During questioning, the man stated, "to repay debts," and the woman admitted to profiting from the high attention and premium space brought by Shohei Ohtani's participation. Both admitted to the offenses. (Editor: Chang Chih-hsuan) 1150417

Choose to stand with facts, every sponsorship you make is a force to protect press freedom.

Download the Central News Agency 'First-hand News' APP to stay updated with the latest news.

The text, images, and audio-visual content on this website may not be reproduced, publicly broadcast, publicly transmitted, or utilized without authorization.