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 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 .
executives
who are the executives?