Mob Group of Japanese Anime Fans on Rise in Russia

Tokyo, March 2 (Jiji Press)--A delinquent group comprising mainly teens who are fans of the Japanese anime series "Hunter Hunter" is becoming a social issue across Russia.

The group starts brawls in various places, leading to arrests of several hundred people by security forces at large commercial facilities in Moscow and elsewhere late last month.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday that the Russian government is monitoring the situation. Some in Russia even have started to call for a ban on Japanese anime.

A member of the State Duma, the lower chamber of Russia's parliament, said that the government should investigate whether unfriendly countries are behind the group. There are fears that Western nations and Japan will be made the target of blame.

Members call their group "private military company ryodan," apparently naming it after Genei Ryodan, a group of thieves that appears in Hunter Hunter, and the Wagner private military company, which participates in the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]