Cop caught taking up-skirt videos during anti-pervert campaign

Tuesday 27th October, 09:07 AM JST

TOKYO —

Police said Monday that a Tokyo police sergeant will be prosecuted under a prefectural nuisance prevention ordinance after he was caught using his cell phone camera to take up-skirt videos with his mobile phone camera on the Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line on Sept 18.

The incident took place right in the middle of an anti-“chikan” (pervert) campaign being conducted by the Tokyo Metropolitan Police to stamp out groping on trains.

The offense was noticed by another police officer who was on the same train. Police said that the sergeant broke his cell phone in half, destroying the evidence, after he was reprimanded by the officer.

According to authorities, the sergeant, who is in his 50s and served in Tsukiji’s organized crime division, resigned from his post and apologized, admitting to the charges and saying that he had committed the same act several times in the past.

Wire reports

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Latest 15 of 121 Total Comments Show All

SBBarnes at 09:21 AM JST - 29th October

kirakira wrote: Oh, sorry! Did I make a grave sexually provocative mistake with my maternity clothes??!!!

Two things. First, did you miss the word "may" in my post? It was an indication that I would judge the situation as I cannot from here. It means I will name the problem if I see one, and there may not be one. You may have done nothing wrong in that situation. I was not there. Second, I did indicate that other women may pay the price for how another woman dresses. When men are aroused by a woman, their feelings don't evaporate when she does. The feeling lingers and may be placed on another woman.

Kirakira wrote: The problem here is NOT the way women dress!

Its not the only problem. Its not even the largest one. But it is a problem and one that women can do something about today without Diet deliberations. Besides, even if a man wants to upskirt or grope a woman, her choice of apparel can make it difficult or impossible to do it significantly or at all. Why women should think they should get a free pass when it comes to personal responsibility and protection is beyond me. Because that skirt goes with these shoes? Please!

kirakira wrote: You mean the one I already mentioned is only open a couple of hours a day? You clearly have no idea!

I have every idea. Every situation is case by case. I presented some possible solutions, not the only solutions and not tailored to anything we discussed.

Yes I know the woman only cars are not 24/7. But if you got groped on the train when it was available well dang, you had a chance to avoid your fate. But I am not saying the groper is off the hook. I don't even suggest a lighter sentence for him. I am just saying that if women don't want to be groped or upskirted, then they should do something to help themselves. There is not always going to be chivalrous knight there to pick up your hanky. And there are fewer out there for women not appreciating them.
auntplum at 04:03 PM JST - 29th October
S8Barnes, I sincerely hope that you never have a daughter that you chose to raise in Japan. It would be heartbreaking for her to come home and try to report the horrible experience that she had been through to you, only to be told that she has concocted a story. It is unfortunately the case that there are many parents that do just this. Those that choose and are able to seek psychotherapy have a chance of escaping the cycle of events that I have mentioned. Many simply find their way into the Mizu Shoubai industry and a souless existance. Have younot ever wondered why this industry is so large in Japan, and how they source their recruits?

You have an interesting vision of the abilities of a 13 year old asian child - to be heavily assaulted in a public place is a shocking experience itself, especially by an assailant wearing the uniform of the establishment and what has been presented to you as authority all of your life - namely, a business suit.

To your points:
1. 1.Did not resist most likely.
By resistance do you mean that she did spin round punch the attacker on the nose? Could you strike an adult double your body weight and size when you were 13? I trust that you are aware that these attacks take place on crowded trains where the victims are not able to move their bodies easily.
1. 2.Did not yell out
Children are not likely to yell out in this situation, as the shame and shock they feel paralyses them into a numbed silence. They are likely to weep however, and to vomit and faint when they get off the train at the next stop to escape the attacker, even though it is not their desired stop.
1. 3.Did not pull the string on the anti-crime alarm or did not carry one.
I do not quite know how to answer this. Is this a joke? This sounds as if you would have children kitted up like soldiers just to survive the gauntlet of the journey to school without being sexually assaulted.
1. 4.After the second time, did not see the pattern and did not get someone she knows to protect her or sort it.
May I ask how long you have been in Japan, how many Japanese aquintances you have? It very much sounds to me as if you are judging the actions of a Japanese victim by EU/US behvioural norms, which is quite obviously out of step with the entire context of a Japanese child's life and upbringing.
1. 5.Did not report it to authorities.
May I refer you to my answer for your point 4. It may be worth bearing in mind that even western adult women stay in relationships in which they are battered and sexually abused for quite some time before seeking help or raising this to the authorites. It is interesting that you would like to judge a 13 year old Asian female child by a higher standard than adult women of your own country. Or is it perhaps that case that you feel that all women deserve what they get if they don't nuke any assailant the second a hand goes anywhere near their body?
rewetzel1 at 04:54 PM JST - 29th October

the majority of groping and perv incidents in japan are "drive by" variety. For instance:

-man runs up behind you on the street and sticks his hand under your skirt and bolts away.

-man coochicoos your behind for 3 seconds on the train right at the stop then steps off.

-man grabs your breast as he walks past you on the train.

-man walks up to you on busy street and punches you in the boobs and runs off.

These are all experiences that have happened to me or to my friends. You always curse yourself out afterward with "coulda/woulda/shoulda" actions like say, chasing down the perv and beating his skull into the curb but usually he is long gone before you can make a move. Most women don't "yell out" because in most cases the guy is gone pretty instantly anyway. The most I've ever gotten out is "Hey!"

My best advice is simply to LOOK AROUND YOU. I had about 5 incidents in my first year of living in Japan and each subsequent year I've had less as I've become very vigilante when I get on a train-car or if I'm walking on the street. Pervs look for women who look distracted or unaware more so than they are looking for short skirts and tight blouses.
auntplum at 05:15 PM JST - 29th October

Yes, I would agree that assailants are often brief in their assaults with foreign or adult women. This is not the case with middle school children, however. Middle school children are the target of serial attackers, due to their vulnerability and the fact that they take the same train every day, meaning that their attendance and route is predictable. In short, the attackers know how long they have with the victim and know that they are in a position of strenght over the victim - factors which greatly reduce the chance of them being apprehended.
yasukuni at 08:10 PM JST - 29th October

Funny thing is that most Japanese will hear this and just say "baka da ne". For gaijin, the crazy part is that he bothers saying that he has done it before.
DerekJ at 07:32 AM JST - 30th October

@taiko666: Your post misses my point. I bemoan the utter disdain some posters display for the Japanese in general. The behaviors we see are neither unique to Japan nor an excuse for derisively classifying a whole people.
dbung10 at 10:56 AM JST - 30th October

Hve to say, Auntplum wins the auntplum vs SSBarnes argument hands down. Agree with anthony39 - maybe making images of child rape illegal may be a step in the right direction!
kirakira25 at 01:01 PM JST - 30th October

Yay! Go Auntplum! I couldn`t be bothered to argue any more!

Images of child rape are not illegal here? Wow! I thought possession of child porn had recently become illegal, and this covers these images, but I think I might be mistaking possession and creation or sale. Can anyone clarify?
RichieRich at 06:53 PM JST - 30th October

I remember being in Tokyo a couple of years ago and there was a sign which said something like 'Chikan ha hanzai desu' on signs in the station, which roughly translates to 'groping / molesting people on the train is a crime'.

I then imagined how ridiculous it would be to place such a sign say in London St.Pancras. I mean, talk about stating the bloody obvious.
dolphingirl at 07:16 PM JST - 30th October

Go kirakira and auntplum! I'm really tired of people who say that women should change their attire; implying that they are asking for it. Didn't you ever watch 'The Accused'? We don't blame the victims of sexual harassment or assault. The pervert is the one doing something very wrong! People who think that women shouldn't wear short skirts because it's too provocative are the type of people who are scared that they don't have any self-control. Also, as others have mentioned, the victims of these crimes are often young girls who don't have the strength or the experience to do something. And it sickens me that sometimes people witness a girl being groped on the train and don't try to stop it.
MindlessError at 03:21 AM JST - 31st October

That is horrible...
DerekJ at 04:51 AM JST - 31st October

anthony39, I am well aware of the status of the child porn issue. I am not excusing that. My complaint is about the sweeping generalizations.
kirakira25 at 11:18 AM JST - 31st October

@DerekJ - I think Anthony39 posted that information for my benefit actually - I was asking for clarification on the law regarding possession and opposed to creation/sale of child pornography.

@Anthony39 - thanks for that info. I understand better now (although still shocked!)

@dolphingirl: the victims of these crimes are often young girls who don't have the strength or the experience to do something

I think you have hit the nail on the head here. It is NOT about sex or attraction, it is about power. Having power and control over your victim. Thinking back to the guy who went for me, I thought maybe he just couldnt tell I was pregnant. But thinking about it, there was no way he could not have been able to tell - Im 10 months! It was a bit obvious! I am not exactly small this time around! It was purely a power thing - he thought he could get away with it because, being so heavily pregnant, I was vulnerable and couldnt fight back. Unfortunately, he was right. I was terrified, in a way only someone who has ever been heavily pregnant and felt that sense of vulnerability can understand. I was so scared he was going to hurt me or the baby. All I could do was move away from him and hope he didnt turn nasty. I think two guys sitting the other side of him told him to leave me alone but I cant be sure, I didnt hear what they said.

Believe me, in my "normal" state he would never have gotten away with it!
dbung10 at 03:26 PM JST - 2nd November

@dolphingirl - people see crimes all the time and dont do anything to stop it. I saw this happen once on a train and called the guy out on it, he stopped. The girl that it was happening to gave me daggers and walked off at the next stop. Everyone else was asleep, emailing or reading. It was weird. If I had hit the guy, or at least held him so that police could come and arrest him, I bet i would have been left standing there with no victim, no witnesses - just me (big foreign weird looking guy) holding on to a salaryman for apparently no reason. I think that this is why people witness these crimes and dont do anything about it - no back up from the commuter zombie hords.
kirakira25 at 09:08 AM JST - 3rd November

@dbung10 - this is what confuses the hell out of me. So many people say that when they call someone up on something like this the victim either doesnt support them, is hostile, doesnt even say thank you!

Do you (or anyone for that matter?!) have any idea WHY??? these women behave like this? Having had it happen to me, and knowing how terrifying it was, I would have been eternally grateful so I just can`t for the life of me understand why women behave this way.