1 Police said Wednesday they have arrested five people accused of making death threats last year against executives of Japan's second-largest brewery in a possible extortion attempt.
2 Police said death threat letters to the executives did not make any demands, but one of those arrested had been named in newspapers as a sokaiya, a kind of extortionist who threatens to disrupt company shareholder meetings unless he is paid.
3 Juntaro Suzuki, managing director of Fuji Photo Film, was stabbed to death outside his home in Tokyo last Feb. 28, apparently because his company refused to pay off sokaiya.
4 A letter to executives of Asahi Breweries Ltd. said, 'We will make you like the executive of Fuji Photo Film Co. We will kill you without fail,' said a police official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
5 Police declined to say how many executives were threatened, but news reports gave the number as eight.
6 The police official said the letter was sent before and after Asahi Breweries' general stockholders meeting last March 30.
7 Yoshinobu Takeda of Asahi Breweries confirmed that more than two company executives were threatened, but declined to discuss details.
8 The police official said the maximum penalty for anyone convicted of making such threats is two years in prison.

Police declined to say how many executives were threatened , but news reports gave the number as eight .
but news reports gave the number as eight
Where did the news reports get these numbers?