A Japanese man who falsely claimed to be a Kyoto University-trained doctor has been sentenced to five years in prison after treating 169 cancer patients without a valid medical licence at a clinic in Osaka.
Shinichi Harada, 67, a former company executive, was handed the sentence by the Osaka District Court on Thursday.
Local media reported that Harada conducted 417 consultation sessions and issued prescriptions to patients at a cancer clinic in Osaka’s Kita Ward between September 2024 and April 2025.
Prosecutors revealed that he had allegedly maintained the false identity of a doctor for around 30 years, despite having neither the qualifications nor the licence required to practise medicine.
More astonishingly, Harada reportedly began posing as a doctor partly to improve his chances of forming romantic relationships with women.
He also faced a separate fraud charge involving an acquaintance whom he allegedly deceived into handing over around 30 million yen (RM773,115) through a fictitious cancer vaccine investment scheme.
The court described his actions as serious offences that undermined public confidence in the medical profession.
Although prosecutors had sought a six-year prison sentence, the court imposed a five-year term.
Harada admitted practising medicine without a licence but denied the fraud allegation.
He claimed that he had explained the investment risks to the individual involved and had never intended to deceive anyone.
