Gangster arrested for refusing to turn off cell phone on plane

Police arrested a 34-year-old man Sunday for refusing to turn off his cell phone in a plane in March in violation of the Aviation Law. The arrest is the first in Japan over the use of cell phones in a plane after the law was revised in January 2004 to prohibit the use of the phones aboard a plane.

Naoyuki Shimoda, a member of a gang group, is suspected of using his cell phones on March 10 in an All Nippon Airways plane as it was taxiing toward a runway for takeoff at Haneda airport despite warnings by its captain, police said.

Shimoda, a resident of Hiratsuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, brought five cell phones on the plane and initially turned them off after being told to do so by cabin attendants.

He later turned them back on, the police said.

The arrest was made because Shimoda took a threatening attitude by saying, "Shut up," when the cabin attendants warned him against using the phones, police said.

The plane returned to an aircraft parking apron to have Shimoda get off the plane, and then took off for Miyazaki airport after a 30-minute delay.