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Among the anime that premiered this spring was "Higehiro: After Being Rejected, I Shaved and Took in a High School Runaway." The lengthy title covers most of the premise, as it’s a story about a single young adult salaryman who lets a runaway schoolgirl live with him while she figures out what the next stage of her life is going to be.
It’s not the most preposterous setup ever for an anime series, but it’s definitely a case where the situation would quickly lose just about any pretense of wholesomeness in real life. As proof, 29-year-old Takeharu Komiya has been arrested following four days of cohabiting with a high school girl who ran away from home.
The two became acquainted through social media, where the girl had posted about wanting to leave home, eventually telling Komiya “I’d be happy if you’d give me the option of running away to your place.” He agreed, and on June 13 the girl made her way from her home in Saitama Prefecture, which borders Tokyo to the north, to Komiya’s condominium in Chiyoda Ward.
The girl’s parents, who were unaware of what their daughter had done, contacted the police when she didn’t come home that night. The ensuing search led them to Komiya’s condo, where he and the girl were both present. Komiya has admitted to the course of events outlined above and was placed under arrest on suspicion of abducting a minor. The girl showed no sign of injuries.
There’s perhaps a claim to be made that since the girl was apparently the one who initially floated the idea of living at Komiya’s condo, and came of her own free will once he agreed, that “abducting” isn’t the right word for what he did. That’s a semantics argument, though, and in the eyes of the law, saying “Sure!” when a minor asks if they can live with you without their parents’ consent, that’s still generally considered kidnapping.
Sources: NHK News Web, TBS via Yahoo! Japan News
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45 Comments
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Toshihiro
Yikes. I hope they go easy on the guy if he really is taking in the girl in good faith. This made me wonder why there were instances of adults and minors being able to enter love hotels in the past, albeit multiple times. From a larger perspective, it bothers me why runaways are frequent in Japan and they chose to live with (potentially predatory) guys, they could've stayed with classmates or other relatives. I've watched the Higehiro anime and it shows how dangerous being a high school girl runaway is.
Mr Kipling
I'm also a middle aged guy but I don't "meet" high school girls on "social media. The guy is at best creepy at worst a predator.
JeffLee
Why isn't her age mentioned?!? That's kinda important information.
Being in one's 20s isn't "middle aged."
foreignbrotherhoodarmy
Castration please
WilliB
Nowhere in the article does it say he molested her, and she initiated the invitation, so this to me sounds more like a big error in judgement rather than abduction or a sex crime. Some commentators are overreacting a little?
sir_bentley28
So let me get this straight, if a minor shown up to my door all blodied and bruised and said "My parent was drunk and got angry and out of control and beat me badly, can I stay here till the police comes?", am I to just shut the door in their faces because that would be seen as "kidnapping"? I mean.....from the eyes of the laws' perspective.
Fighto!
Another creep. Even if his intentions were good, any person with a few brain cells would know allowing a random school girl to live with you would more than raise eyebrows.
BTW that anime sounds like the sick fantasy of a lot of these child-chasing freaks.
Paul
Stupid Japanese law!!!!
Albert DeFilippo
Stop passing judgement without knowing the details. The article states that the girl was not harmed. Could it be that he could have saved the girl from abuse at home? Why would a child run away from a happy home? Let's also ask about how the parents are towards the child. Believe it or not (speaking from experience) there are actually honest people out there that do save kids from abuse.
Fighto!
So, he was "waiting for police" with the child for 4 DAYS? There is no indication that he even called the police.
Mocheake
No harm no foul.
WilliB
Fighto!
If he did call the police, they would take her straight back to the parents. Would you not assume that that was precisely what she did not want?
oldman_13
Disgusting predator, he has zero business stalking underage girls. Lock him up.
WilliB
oldman_13
Where in the article does it mention stalking?
ShinCebu
That is way better then killing their own kids inside the house.....
blahblah222
There are many abusive parents in Japan, the fact that these children have no place to go is a bigger problem.
I had a friend who in her high-school years, her parents forced her to work dangerous jobs to provide money, but do not even bother providing her with food. But due to this law, no one dared to provide shelter. She was only 31kg when she was finally arrested for trying to make money due to ever-increasing demands from her parents. (of course, her parents never gotten in trouble, when she gets out, she will just get abused again)
oldman_13
So a 29-year old man just happens to randomly come across a high school girl's social media page, a girl that is looking for place to runaway to. Yup he's a stalker.
Kaoru Mugen
Yes. You'd also get called a predator and people would call for your castration, apparently.
igfklin
In Japan, a 19-year-old male college student can be arrested for making love to an 18-year-old female high school student.
602miko
I hate it when the underage ppl bringing trouble to the innocent ppl.
sf2k
maybe look up the word kidnapping before writing the article?
Goodlucktoyou
I lived on the streets one time. I would rather stay in an apartment with a toilet and electricity.
blahblah222
But will not be prosecuted if it was rape instead of consensual. What a twisted system.
Tom Doley
Idiot. Has no moral conscious whatsoever.
JJ Jetplane
@Toshihiro
Go easy on him for what? Regardless of if he did nothing with the girl, there are a lot of alarming things about his actions. Befriending school aged girls, willing to take in school aged girls, not even trying to notify her parents, and again, why is he online getting so close to a school aged girl?
John doe
If it was a 29 year old lady that let a schoolgirl stay with them would the police arrest her?
This story is just click bait, more bs.
Not all men are child molesters. Maybe the parents were the molesters? Don't know.
Maybe the man is a creep? Don't know.
Maybe the girl is just being normal teenager?
Don't know.
We can't assume things.
In a different time different place maybe this man would be seen as a hero?
Maybe only in the movies.
englisc aspyrgend
Lots of speculation on virtually no solid sacks.
Some people do jump to conclusions and then scream blue murder demanding “retribution” without knowing the facts.
That’s the trouble with click bate pieces like this, no proper journalistic investigation to ascertain the facts.
englisc aspyrgend
Sacks = facts!
BertieWooster
Gosh what a lot of knee jerk reactions!
The article doesn't give enough data to form any kind of opinion.
didou
Many do post on social networks after leaving home, searching for financial help. Twitter has a lot. A ground for illegal stuffs
Mark
Glad to know she is safe, this is a tough call, but as long as the girl was unharmed, un locked, and he did not ask her to join him, even he failed to contact the police, her parents , or school, I think he should be advised it is wrong and set free.
sf2k
Sounds more like she abandoned a bad home situation. What person doesn't have a phone? Did the parents call her and she didn't answer?
if she went herself it's not abduction, if she can come and go as she pleases it's not confinement, if the family is not being asked for money it's not randsom, if she had her phone with her it's not a lack of communication. What part of this is kidnapping?
Thus even if the man assumed her parents knew of the trip, the charges would fall under harbouring a minor not kidnapping or abduction, that seems overly harsh. He's also a lawyer so there's a sense of community support. He admitted to the crime.
But that's as far as the facts of the story goes. Some speculation follows.
There may be more to play out about this case as the man is himself a lawyer, so should have understood that harbouring a minor was illegal. He would have had a lot of time to think about that, as she planned this days/weeks in advance and still had not told the parents. That's a high level of disdain right there.
Thus I'm assuming she left her phone off or didn't answer when she left that night. Parents got worried in a single night for some reason and immediately called the police. Perhaps she had already threathened to run away or they had suspected something. Then rather than talk to her beforehand they just let it happen. More abandonment
So all in all just a sad tale. Family counselling would be useful here, something the police should consider.
But the police will wash their hands of it. The only person who listened to her has been arrested. The minor will be returned to the family she fears or hates and that can lead to new problems or even tragedy.
lostrune2
He should had called the local child services
Jim
Just shocking how many commenters are defending the perverted act of this man! Underage is underage …
Zaphod
lostrune2
You mean those that are notoriously useless in Japan?
William Bjornson
From the article: "That’s a semantics argument, though, and in the eyes of the law, saying “Sure!” when a minor asks if they can live with you without their parents’ consent, that’s still generally considered kidnapping."
By whom, exactly? What we see in the sentence "... that’s still generally considered kidnapping" is what, in propaganda, we call "thought massage" when we just presume a judgement with 'generally' and inject it into the reader's mind as the 'preferred' judgement. I DON'T consider it kidnapping by this superficial story which, apparently, seeks to demonize all men and implies that ALTRUISM, at least in men, cannot be trusted. In fact, this whole story and the mentalities outed in the comments conjures up in this mind in a loud voice America's most favorite expression ending in YOU! What does it say in Scripture..."No good deed goes unpunished..."? Or modernized...Kindness incarcerates...What a place this Human World is...
Rob-3
First off, you are using a lot of plurals in your response. Last I checked it was not illegal to befriend someone younger than you in person or on social media - inappropriate perhaps but that is where you have to rely on the senior to ensure that those boundaries are not crossed.
And as someone has already mentioned in an earlier response, there is not enough facts as to their history.
Please do not mistake my response as defending the actions for either of them but it's too easy to think the worse since that is generally the case in these situations, but not always. However in this case, and based on what is reported in the article, he made a bad decision in taking her in without notifying her parents or the police. I know someone had commented that if he had done that they would have sent her back to her parents, hence why she ran away, but that would have been the correct action and for that he should be fined or given some sort of warning to stop any communications with her until she is an adult.
To be honest, if he really did care about her safety and well being he would have contacted the police as she was on her way to him. She would have felt betrayed and it might have ended their friendship but so be it.
I also question the purpose of publishing this article other than to get "views".
BackpackingNepal
Some people don't read or understand the article and blame without knowing properly. These people are more scarier than the news.
Strahan
By the law. A minor doesn't have agency to decide where they want to live, at least, not unless they are emancipated. Assuming Japan has emancipation. Same way a minor cannot consent to sex. The fact they are a minor precludes them from that.
So yes, even if the minor is 100% on board with going to live with someone it still is legally kidnapping if the parent's aren't aware / are against it.
lostrune2
You won't be legally liable
DOEL HARRY
This man was arrested for kidnapping a minor and I hope he did not have sex with her cause then he could be charged with rape also. If the only charge is Kidnapping that might stick but it seems for whatever reason the girl wanted to run away from her home, so this man may have done her a favor by giving her a place to stay instead of her running away and living in the street of working at some Sex shop. Question here is Why did she want to run away from home ??