A sitting Japanese judge became addicted to online gambling and embezzled funds set aside for civil servants to feed his habits, say prosecutors in Akita Prefecture.
Public prosecutors say they have indicted the 52-year-old Akifumi Morimoto, a judge at a summary court in Niigata, the Japanese broadcaster AAB News reported.
Morimoto has been charged with habitual gambling, embezzlement, and other related offenses.
Akita District public prosecutors say the judge used his smartphone and other web-connected devices to gamble on baccarat games on online casino sites.
Japanese Judge Placed 60,000 Bets on Baccarat Games
Investigators say Morimoto placed at least 60,000 bets, allegedly starting his gambling activities in 2023.
At the time, Morimoto was also responsible for managing the bank accounts of the management association of a national civil servants’ dormitory in the city of Yokote.
Prosecution officials said that between April 2023 and May 2025, Morimoto embezzled approximately 2.79 million yen (almost $18,000) from these accounts.
Investigators say the judge withdrew funds from the dormitory accounts and deposited them in his own private accounts.
The Public Prosecutor’s Office did not say whether Morimoto has admitted or denied the charges.
Online casinos are banned in Japan. Accessing overseas-based online casinos is a criminal offense. Courts have the power to jail habitual illegal gamblers and hand out heavy fines.
Investigators around the country have found evidence that several active-duty police officers have gambled during working hours this year.
In February, Japanese prosecutors indicted a 35-year-old police lieutenant from the Okinawa Prefectural Police force on suspicion of habitual gambling on horse races via unregistered online casino sites.
And in January, a detective at Hanyu Police Station admitted to stealing valuable trading cards from an evidence room.
The detective said he sold the cards and used the money to bet on horse races.
“I couldn’t control my desire to gamble,” he told investigators during questioning.
