Former economist to get 4-month prison term for groping

Saturday 27th June, 04:53 PM JST

TOKYO —

Kazuhide Uekusa, once a well-known TV commentator and economist, will get four months in prison for molesting a female high school student on a Tokyo train in 2006 as a petty bench of the Supreme Court decided earlier this week to turn down his final appeal. Presiding Judge Takaharu Kondo of the third petty bench made the decision Thursday, upholding the 4-month prison term handed down in district and high court trials against Uekusa for public indecency.

According to the lower courts’ rulings, Uekusa, 48, put his hand up the high school student’s skirt and touched her body on the night of Sept. 13, 2006, on a commuter train between Shinagawa and Kamata stations on the Keihin Kyuko Line. Uekusa pleaded not guilty, saying he was mistaken for the real perpetrator. But the Tokyo District Court convicted Uekusa based on eyewitnesses’ testimonies, and the Tokyo High Court affirmed the ruling. Earlier, Uekusa was convicted of public indecency and fined 500,000 yen for trying to look up a female high school student’s skirt using a mirror at a Tokyo railway station in April 2004. He was a professor at Waseda University at that time.

Kyodo

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Latest 15 of 29 Total Comments Show All

Beerplease at 10:38 PM JST - 27th June

And the Kyoto Kyouiku Daigaku boys get nothing?
PepinGalarga at 11:35 PM JST - 27th June

Disillusioned: It may be ok to sneak a peek at something that's in plain view, but even to use mirrors to get that edge is sick. To go out and touch a girl is criminal, crossing the line by far. Even if the little "trouts" as you call them were wearing G-strings and covered in oil... Doesn't matter.

Most of these girls use fashion just to fit in with the others. This is great for the average guy. Creeps use it as an excuse to cross the line.
GW at 11:48 PM JST - 27th June

disillusioned

watch yourself or yr going to get into lots of trouble........ or maybe you already have & shud be already locked up......... h`mmmm
mistersmarmy at 12:47 AM JST - 28th June

this website should be used for constructive discussion, not just for out and out condemnation of various postings. Disillusioned is entititled to their opinion. its strange how so many people are quick to condemn without grasping the substance of the comment. to those who immediately posted negative comments : read it again and then think about what was said. was the perpetrator being vindicated? of course not. this is a big problem with some of the readers of this website. I've said it before and then Moderator cancels all my comments....go figure.
IvanCoughalot at 01:09 AM JST - 28th June

Just because it's in the shop window doesn't mean you have to buy it.
flatearther at 01:29 AM JST - 28th June

I really don't care what this high school girl was wearing, groping her is still not okay. I find it bizarre and offensive that some people automatically assume they are looking for this treatment because of the fashion. Get off your moral high horses and look around, people! In Japan, this is the style! Dresses, heels, short skirts and school uniforms are normal. It took me time to understand it too, most women in my country wear jeans most of the time, so when I first got here, I thought their clothes were a little..slutty. Just like everything else, though, I had to get over any moral superiority I felt and realize that these. clothes. are. normal. If you really want to look slutty here, just wear a shirt that shows cleavage, they will freak out. Men, the clothes they wear here don't mean they're interested or looking to be groped. Do you assume if they smile at you they like you, too? Really. I wish this guy got a longer sentence, for a public figure and a TEACHER to boot 4 months is shameful. @Disillusioned- Wow, just..........wow. You have had some rough times, haven't you? I feel sorry for you.
TofuUnion at 01:44 AM JST - 28th June

As far as I read in some other Japanese articles on this trial, a few say there was no eyewitness but the girl's testimony. There might be some reason he was targeted, as he has been making a lot of intense critics against LDP policy.
nibachan at 01:31 PM JST - 28th June

Using a mirrow? pathetic.. he deserve more time. The most civilizated country in the world in matter of sex doesn't need molesters.
polarmalik at 07:01 PM JST - 28th June

The 4 month prison term is not appropriate as the convict is not totally normal and needs to get it out of his system - fortunately he's only fond of looking up the schools girl's skirts and shoving his hand up to touch and feel. However, this bad habit may get worse and he may be a potential rapist in making. BE AWARE JAPANESE HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS - wear chastity belts underneath, just in case. Farakh Malik
womanforwomen at 08:06 PM JST - 28th June

A land where 13 year old female children are smarter than 34 year old males. The young girls understand the law better and know how to make money as well as put older men into trouble. My admiration for the techinical advancement of the people of this land is slowly diminishing.
BeaverCleaver at 11:17 PM JST - 28th June

womanforwomen - "A land where 13 year old female children are smarter than 34 year old males... My admiration for the techinical advancement of the people of this land is slowly diminishing."

Ah, well, at least they smarter than those that think every single male and every single female of another country are all defined by one or a couple crime articles. That must count for some respect, just like the opposite counts for diminished respect. Do you ever sometimes feel like you have been hoisted on your own petard?
IchyaWarFare at 12:47 PM JST - 29th June

@BeaverCleaver- nice name by the way, but do no waste your time trying to explain anything to womanforwomen. She has a "supposed" JN-male fiance, and wishes to condemn Japan for existing. Maybe I am being a little over the top...nah...
womanforwomen at 02:04 PM JST - 29th June

I think I love Jland more than some of you here. If you remove the weed, Jlnd is one of the best places to live. But stubbornly, some choose to do nothing about it and let the whole country and culture to rot.Not surprised that you are defending an old good-for-nothing man.

What about my Jfiance? You didn't know that there are many Jpeople who are normal and live respectable lives? A large proportion of them are not in Jland ofcourse.
IchyaWarFare at 11:46 AM JST - 1st July

womanforwomen- you are amazing. (please note sarcasm)

Who is defending the old man? So you are saying a large portion of the Japanese people here in Japan are not normal and do not live respectable lives? I am pretty sure the problem in Japan is not Mary Jane, it might actually help alot of them out, maybe you too. For someone who loves Japan as much as you supposedly do, you sure have a high track record for bringing it down. Again, I am wasting my time trying to explain anything to a hater like you.
fishy at 01:53 PM JST - 1st July

womanforwoman -- just to note that large portion of "normal" Japanese people do live here in Japan.. what are you talking about. Just because you see some crazy J-people on TV/news/paper, that is a small portion of the J-population. I dont know where you are from, but I am sure majority of the people in your wonderful country are normal and live respecatable lives -- Before checking JT news, you should check CNN, BBC and other sites first to see whats happening in the rest of the world outside of Japan. I am sure you can easily find tons of crazy human beings.