Man arrested for abducting junior high school girl in Iwate

Wednesday 12th August, 10:22 AM JST

IWATE —

A 46-year-old man was arrested for abducting a minor on Monday night, after he asked a junior high school girl into his car to go shopping and drove her around for about 6 hours, police said Tuesday.

Police said Masahiro Kobayashi called out to the girl from his car in Kunohe District at around 10 a.m. Monday, asking her if she wanted to go shopping. The girl got in the car and got out again about 6 hours later, calling police shortly after. She was not injured.

Given a description of Kobayashi’s car and his appearance, police went to his home that night, where he was arrested. He has admitted to the allegations but further details such as motive have not been revealed yet.

News reports

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Latest 15 of 24 Total Comments Show All

JpnCdn at 03:49 PM JST - 12th August

smithinjapan at 11:27 AM JST - 12th August

Glad she got out okay.

But really, are Japanese not taught as children NOT to get into the car with strangers? Hell, what this girl did seems so infantile and stupid that it's amazing she's okay. Of course, I can imagine the man may have waved a couple of ichi-man yen bills around and the girl saw a sparkling new handbag in her mind, but still.

I'm thinking this is another case of Enjou-kousai (or just a quicky in the car) gone wrong.

No it is not just Japanese children. Greed makes people do stupid things all the time. I see stupidity as a result of greed happen everyday and everywhere. Greed and stupidity just go hand-in-hand. Greed and stupidity knows no bound. Greed and stupidity do not discriminate among races. Enough said.
Disillusioned at 03:55 PM JST - 12th August
Stranger danger! My kids won't talk to anyone they don't know and that is how I keep it.
- Why did she get in the car? Is she one of these really stupid teenage girls or is she some little trout out for action? 6 hours is a long time to be getting spoiled by an oyaji without raising an alarm of some sort, don't you think? She was having fun.
Sanatan22 at 04:19 PM JST - 12th August

I bet that she told her parents that she was forced to get into the car in order not to take responsibility for her actions, and then they called the police. It's a common thing in Japan to blame others for your own stupidity.
pawatan at 04:54 PM JST - 12th August

Be vigile and if you see a pervert call the police immediately.

How exactly would you call the police on this? "Emergency! There's a man driving around with a young girl young enough to be his daughter! What do you mean how do I know it's not his daughter?"

There's obviously a lot missing in this story.
tamesu at 05:01 PM JST - 12th August

A 46-year-old Japanese man...............Adult?
womanforwomen at 06:24 PM JST - 12th August

I don't care about that idiot of a man who is sick. JHS girl, 6 hours, what did she actually have in mind? A stranger is going to take her in his car, take her for a nice fancy ride, ice cream, sweets and presents...

Do the parents teach their children- ignore when your neighbor tries to be friendly with you or if you see a stranger having trouble on the street don`t look but it's ok if someone of the opposite sex invite you for a ride you can go?
sensei258 at 06:43 PM JST - 12th August

JHS is old enough to know better. She wanted something, got it, then reported to the police to cover her self.
LoveUSA at 09:02 PM JST - 12th August

How exactly would you call the police on this?

There are some cases when one is sure the person is a pervert. For example indecent filming, taking photos. Don't pat the person on the shoulder, call the police.
bobbafett at 09:34 PM JST - 12th August

the girl should be sued for misrepresenting her product. I am sure on her mobile phone add it would have read "discretion guaranteed".
AK619 at 11:38 PM JST - 12th August

I think its the guys fault because he wasn't the legal parent of this girl. This is a 46 year old man that should've known better. If you play with fire you could get burned, his arrest is a good example for others. When are some people going to grow up and leave these immature junior-high school kids alone? When you talk to young stupid under age kids to take advantage of them, you risk getting arrested. There are to many single lonely adult women out there to talk too.
AK619 at 11:43 PM JST - 12th August

If you see these kids warring there junior-high school uniforms, then a bell should go off in your big head, leave the girl alone, or risk getting tore up by the Police, like this 46 year old example idiot.
mnemosyne23 at 01:48 AM JST - 13th August

Six hours? Of what? Just driving around? I don't know how old this girl is (beyond the generic "junior high school" label), but unless they were cruising through some deserted, abandoned stretch of roadway for six hours, there must have been SOME opportunity to call for help. Roll down the window? Open the car door at a stop light? Bang on the window and scream for help to get the attention of others on the street? I don't want to blame the victim -- if a true victim she turns out to be -- and who can say how any of us would have reacted at her age in that situation? But still, it seems awfully strange.

Also, if she was taken at 10am, why didn't the school report her absent? Or is it vacation time? I'm woefully out of the loop in that respect. It does seem awfully convenient that she was taken for precisely the length of a school day.
KyotoChris at 02:12 AM JST - 13th August

From the story, I don't think any of us know enough about this case to pass judgment on either people involved.
benhur at 02:57 AM JST - 13th August

it was the girls fault 200%.

she HAD to get in the car.
bcbrownboy at 07:37 AM JST - 13th August

Vigile -- Thanks for the Italian lesson. I need to learn more. Trout -- Where is this used for young, loose women? I definitely need to get out more.