Seibu Railway employee held for molesting woman on Seibu line

Tuesday 20th May, 10:38 AM JST

TOKYO —

Police on Monday arrested a 22-year-old employee of Seibu Railway Co for molesting a 27-year-old woman on the Seibu Ikebukuro Line in Nerima Ward on Sunday night.

Yusuke Sawatani, 22, was arrested for allegedly groping the woman around 7:55 p.m., forcing her down on the floor and kissing her, in the last car of the train. Other passengers alerted the conductor who grabbed Sawatani and handed him over to police at the next station. The suspect was quoted by police as saying, “I can’t remember what I did because I was very drunk.”

According to Seibu Railway, Sawatani works in the sales department at Takadanobaba station and he was on the way home at the time of the incident.

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Latest 15 of 21 Total Comments Show All

jerseyboy at 12:32 PM JST - 20th May

He was very drunk...at 7:55 PM. But, at least the fact that it was during rush hour eliminates the knee-jerk reaction from the idiots here who would say she brought this on herself by being somewhere she should not have been/at an inappropriate time. This poor lady was accosted simply, apparently, because she was commuting home from work. And, because a J-guy was drunk and decided he had the right to molest her. Also, please explain how this situation is much different from what Hadnott, the U.S. Marine did (the girl's age aside)? Do you think this guy will get four years? More like four weeks -- suspended.
pathat at 01:00 PM JST - 20th May

Put some undercover cops on trains. Arrest these guys.

There already are some, including women who dress up in high school uniforms to "entrap" some of the many pathetic Japanese guys who cannot stop molesting women on the trains.
pathat at 01:07 PM JST - 20th May

Jerseyboy: To be fair, Sawatani may not spend much time in the slammer, and I very seriously doubt he will spend anywhere near the three years in jail that Hadnott will for his crime, but Sawatani will lose his job and have a helluva time restarting his life. I would call this a pretty harsh punishment.
Crucades at 01:36 PM JST - 20th May

indeed, sending him to jail for molesting an adult woman would be far too severe, better giving him an unlimited fine and the damage on his criminal record.
GrouchyGaijin at 01:46 PM JST - 20th May

Sawatani may be hoping for the same punishment his former boss, Tsutsumi got. Not a groper, but found guilty of corruption, the judge in his sentencing said he'd brought disrepute and mistrust to the financial system itself. (That takes some doing!) Tsutsumi got a couple of years suspended sentence, and a term of house arrest. Seibu has a tradition of crime, it would seem. Sawatani was just following his superior's fine example.
keshii at 02:21 PM JST - 20th May

Another Japanese using the "I was drunk" excuse.

Did anyone give him a an Blood Alcohol Level Content (BALC) test? Let's work with evidence and not just hearsay, and maybe Japan will have a chance at making the criminal justice system less of a ridiculous sham. Or perhaps it's just the reporting that's lacking?
Hughgarse at 02:43 PM JST - 20th May

drunk at 7:30pm?? lightweight.. Am sure he had the Suntory tan as well!
niku at 02:49 PM JST - 20th May

Molesting is a crime, and mist fist is actually 1 and 1/2 times the size of a Japanese persons'. RIP any chikan who tries it on my wife!
Altria at 02:54 PM JST - 20th May

Fisting on the train? That's taking it a bit far!
dany505 at 03:37 PM JST - 20th May

Drunk and groping girls on the trian ...classy Yusuke keepin it classy
fingerless at 05:55 PM JST - 20th May

I would love to see this woman also take Seibu Railway Co to court as I have no doubt sales rookie Sawatani was tanking up in the line of duty.
1keiron at 07:11 PM JST - 20th May

Fisting on the train? That's taking it a bit far!

LOL..dammit why am i still so immature!..But it was a funny comment though the way I read it. Can i just ask one thing for the guys in Japan right now...Are Japanese girls really so hot that this happens often? Or is it because the guys are so busy at work that they dont have much time to socialise and meet girls in the evening and weekends. I must admit i did laugh at the thought of a "ladies only" car but to be fair I think thats a good thing to keep them safe from this happening. I cant wait for my first visit to JP!
romulus3 at 09:27 PM JST - 21st May

why didn't someone kick him in the head "Randy Orton" style before calling the conductor. Cowards
Youdontknow at 11:10 PM JST - 25th May

Throw them in jail for a year or two.
European1 at 12:57 AM JST - 26th May

RIP any chikan who tries it on my wife!

If you try you will be the one who will go to jail as foreigner-protector of own wife. I`m sorry, but there are stories where foreigner punched a guy who slapped his wife and he (foreigner) ended up apologizing and was ordered to pay 150,000 yen to Yak