A 25-year-old man was arrested close to the Diet building with a fake lapel pin resembling those worn by members of a special police unit assigned to protect key figures as well as a false bar association membership card, it was learned Tuesday.
Masakazu Nagai, of Tokyo's Shinagawa Ward, was arrested on suspicion of falsifying private documents. He allegedly forged a membership card for the Tokyo Bar Association.
His arrest came after a special police agent spotted him walking along a street near the House of Councilors on Dec. 19. The officer immediately noticed the badge that Nagai was wearing was a fake, police said.
The suspect was asked to voluntarily submit to police questioning. A subsequent search of his possessions showed that in addition to the false bar association membership card, he was carrying a police beat stick, a toy gun and a memo pad with the words "National Police Agency" embossed in gold letters, police said.
He was quoted as telling investigators that "it was such a good feeling" to go to bars and restaurants where he would be treated with respect and called "sensei."