From our other sites
The story
On September 17, the YouTube channel “Maruyama Gonzalez’s Deep World” posted a video titled “What Is ‘Tribute Girl’ Riri Up to Now?”, in which writer Shinya Kusaka revealed he has received two letters this year from inmate Mai Watanabe, who is currently serving her sentence. Watanabe was sentenced to 8 years and 6 months in prison plus a fine of 8 million yen for swindling roughly 150 million yen out of three men, among other charges — a ruling that has since been finalized. In the letters, she reportedly said she had cut ties with “people from the bad world” and pleaded, “Please, I want to talk again.” On 5ch, reactions split over how to take her words of repentance, with plenty of comments also focused on the harshness of her sentence and the fact that she’s profiting off broadcasting even from behind bars.
On September 17, the YouTube channel “Maruyama Gonzalez’s Deep World” (1.59 million subscribers) posted a video titled “What Is ‘Tribute Girl’ Riri Up to Now? Things Have Taken a Major Turn [Underworld Times],” in which writer Shinya Kusaka revealed he has received two letters this year from inmate Mai Watanabe, the “tribute girl” known as “Riri-chan” (10,000 subscribers on her own channel), who is currently serving her sentence.
Restitution project derailed by a romance with a pen pal
Watanabe was charged with swindling roughly 150 million yen out of three men and with aiding fraud by selling a manual detailing her methods, among other charges, and in January 2025 her sentence of 8 years and 6 months in prison plus a fine of 8 million yen was finalized.
Source: yutura.net / Original article here
What people said
But she'll probably just meet more bad people in there too lmao
Easy comeback, no sweat
She really does love the attention lol
She's not getting out anyway, might as well help her out in every way you can
Rack up some good karma
Doesn't say hello
Catchphrase is 'oji' (slang for older men)
Standoffish
An 'oyaji gal' (a girl who hangs around older guys)
Nah, it's just that other criminals in gut-wrenching cases get off too easy — this doesn't seem especially harsh to me
yet somehow Riri's the one who ends up in prison — go figure
Though she seems to hate her lol
>and pulling in almost 3 million yen in about two months
People are so easy to fool
Compared to the 150 million yen she stole, that's chump change (lit. 'a sparrow's tears')
Bare-faced, there might not be as many people falling for it lol
Not like those hostesses or streamers who get some petty revenge and their short, pointless lives are over
She can pick and choose whatever platform to broadcast on, she'll have no trouble making a living — kind of jealous honestly
Tribute Riri-chan lol
Showing her true colors lmaooo
It's just a band-aid fix, she'll forget about it right away
Her supporters and the people around her seem kind of unhinged, or maybe they've been brainwashed? Like, they see her as beneath them, feel some sympathy, and it turns into a warped sense of justice. Apparently she has some kind of support or rehabilitation team, and it's bizarre how the people who deal with her directly — lawyers, reporters — keep turning into allies one after another.
Lucky for him it was Ohtani lol
He didn't even file a police report lmaooo
She's a pushover when it comes to romance huh… lol
The type who'll do anything for a guy she's fallen for lol
And not in a good way lmaooo
Background and Key Points of This Story
Mai Watanabe, known as “tribute girl Riri-chan,” had her sentence of 8 years and 6 months in prison plus a fine of 8 million yen finalized in January 2025 for swindling a total of roughly 150 million yen out of three men, among other charges. The reason someone behind bars can get information out to the public is that writer Shinya Kusaka acts as a go-between through visits and letters, and Watanabe’s writings are reportedly published for a fee, pulling in nearly 3 million yen in under two months. On the thread, opinions split between those questioning how harsh the sentence is and those calling it “practically light compared to other heinous crimes,” with some describing the way supporters, lawyers, and reporters keep becoming cooperative one after another as “brainwashing.” At the same time, exchanging letters and broadcasting from prison are not illegal in themselves, and the fact that her restitution project has reportedly stalled due to her relationship with a pen pal is a piece of the factual record worth noting separately from the emotional backlash.
*This article is an excerpt and summary of the 5ch (Entertainment/Sports News+) thread “‘Tribute girl’ Riri tells supporters from prison, “Please, I want to talk again,” reports cutting ties with “people from the bad world”.”
Leave a Reply