Two Japanese men and two Chinese women have been arrested over a fake marriage scam aimed at allowing one of the women to extend her stay in Japan, police said Thursday.
The two men -- 61-year-old Katsutoshi Kato and 50-year-old Fumihiko Nakamura -- are both unemployed. The 30-year-old women, Chen Xiaobin and Zhao Rong, are bar hostesses.
The four were arrested on suspicion of supplying false information on an official document submitted to the relevant authorities.
Zhao is suspected of arranging the fake marriage.
The four have rejected these allegations, investigators said.
Police said they have served an arrest warrant against a third man and are searching for him in connection with the case.
The suspects are thought to have asked a 34-year-old company employee in Seto, Aichi Prefecture, to marry Zhao in exchange for 600,000 yen.
They submitted a marriage document to the Meito Ward office in the city of Nagoya on Oct. 30, 2001. The document featured false family registry information supplied by the man, investigators said.
Police said they would turn the case against the man as an accomplice over to prosecutors.