Police in Sapporo, Hokkaido, have arrested a 62-year-old man on suspicion of violating the child prostitution law after he allegedly paid a 15-year-old girl ¥25,000 to commit lewd acts with him at a hotel last October.
According to police, the man, who works as a security guard, became acquainted with the girl on Twitter, Hokkaido Broadcasting Corp reported. Police said they arranged to meet at a hotel on Oct 29.
The incident came to light when police were investigating social media sites and the suspect’s name emerged as a potential offender.
The man, whose name hasn’t been released, was arrested on Sunday. Police said he has admitted to the allegation and that he knew the girl was a minor.
© Japan Today
39 Comments
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smithinjapan
Strangerland: "I believe all prefectures set it at 18."
You're both wrong. Age of consent in Japan is 13. However, under the Child Welfare Law, Youth Protection Law, and Child Prostitution Prohibition Law, one can be charged with various other crimes when engaging in lewd acts with a minor. And THAT age is set at 18.
Yubaru
My vote is for the idiot charge here.
Any guy 62 years old, living in Japan, is sure to know pretty much where they can get soaped down, or have some fashionable health treatments, without having to get the cops involved.
qazwsx
Unfortunately there are always going to be predators. Parents need to have deep talks with their children about the dangers of the Internet, having respect for your body, and keeping open lines of communication between the kids and their parents
Yubaru
15 is not an adult in Japan, and the age of consent in the prefecture is 16 I do believe, which takes precedence over national law.
She is a minor, by law.
tora
I assume they they carried out private chats before they decided to meet. Unless he was an idiot and made all the chars public (I don't assume this). Therefore, how did the police track him down through Twitter, and even find out his identify? A lot of this doesn't make sense unless...A back door?? Elon??
Strangerland
Society has decided that 15 year old's lack the mental capacity to be able to provide consent, which is why there are strong laws against sleeping with minors. Do you feel this is incorrect, and that it should be ok to sleep with minors? Should it be ok at any age if they say ok, or do you feel there is a minimum age, and why do you feel that would be the minimum age?
Bob Fosse
She’s a girl. Thus legally not able to make adult decisions. Adults sometimes take advantage of minors lack of responsibility.
It’s a crime in most countries including yours.
rcch
I called him disgusting and I’m (already) getting downvoted for that…; this is a man that wants to have sex with a girl old enough to be his granddaughter. What the…; seriously, some comment sections on jt can be scary.
Strangerland
She didn't need to. Society has decided that 15 year old's lack the mental capacity to be able to provide consent, which is why there are strong laws against sleeping with minors. Do you feel this is incorrect, and that it should be ok to sleep with minors? Should it be ok at any age if they say ok, or do you feel there is a minimum age, and why do you feel that would be the minimum age?
Paustovsky
Eeugh. Major creepy projection.
rcch
Today 02:07 pm JST
“ I don't know about you but I still remember when I was 15 and I was well aware about the differences between good and bad. I think what he did was wrong but since the girl willingly met him at a hotel she knew what she was getting into. I believe it is not okay to sleep with minors but in the case of older teenagers it's always better to analyse the situation from all perspectives.
I'm actually more concerned about government overreach in this particular case. “
Good and bad? There’s “good and bad” and then there’s good and bad…; you mean like not drinking too much Coca-Cola, say thank you and not spending all your money in lollipops or making (or not) decisions (and be aware of the consequences of those decisions) that can affect your future life, you, as a person, your personality, your mental health and your self-esteem(?)
(you do realize that, by using that rhetoric, you’re defending pedophiles and predators, right?)
Strangerland
Ok, but you didn't answer the questions:
Strangerland
So you're saying if you slept with a 13 year old in Japan you wouldn't be arrested? Same with a 14 year old, a 15 year old, a 16 year old, and a 17 year old?
kohakuebisu
Host bars are scum but I doubt they are fleecing many 15 year olds.
I hope this girl was selling her body to buy nice stuff for herself, clothes or whatever. This may seem morally corrupt, but is better than the alternative, which is doing it to feed herself or the rest of her family.
proxy
Who was the predator? Who groomed who? Child abuse or elder abuse?
GBR48
The servers of social media websites are free repositories, allowing people to store an evidential record of their activities, to incriminate themselves. Policing can be point-and-click in such cases. The cops don't have to leave the doughnut shop, if it has WiFi.
ian
Why would prostituting oneself to buy nice stuff be better than prostituting oneself to feed self and family?
Bob Fosse
It’s a crime. Someone who does this is a pedophile.
15 is not late teens.
Yubaru
Reread what I wrote. I am not "wrong" as you blanketly state here. I wrote the following, to refresh your memory.
She is not considered an adult, as to what I was replying to, and I wrote the "age of consent", not anything about what you are stating here. She is a minor, by law!
smithinjapan
Strangerland: "Society has decided that 15 year old's lack the mental capacity to be able to provide consent, which is why there are strong laws against sleeping with minors."
You can keep cutting and pasting this line all you like, but you've been called out on it and are once again wrong on the first part. Age of consent is 13. Period. So, obviously, society has deemed them mentally able to decide to have sex from 13 -- at least with other minors. The second half of your cut-and-paste is right -- there are strong laws against sex with minors. You never have been able to admit when you're wrong, though.
Yubaru
You are stating a law from 1907 when life expectancy for women was 45 years old. Go read the laws of the prefectures, which over rule the national law. Sure the law for the national government is 13, but, please feel free and go have your fantasy fulfilled if you think you wont get nailed for statutory rape of a minor, for breaking the law of the age of consent, in any of the 47 prefectures of Japan.
Fighto!
Creepy and sick old man. Stick to women your age, not children. Jail time please.
Lindsay
Grooming a minor on the internet is a serious offense where I come from. Add to that paying her for sex and this old creep would be spending the rest of his life in jail. He’ll get a two year sentence in Japan which will likely be suspended and he’ll do no actual jail time at all.
Jonathan Prin
15 year old...
Chatting on Twitter...
If I see well, not too long ago, there were phone numbers everywhere pinned for you know what and no one ever felt concerned.
Police is now "efficient" to catch fish from office.
It wil never stop because of Japanese culture : young girls propose and no one reacts before action.
wallace
Victim blaming.
El Rata
She knew what she was doing, got the money and didn't even report the crime herself, he got caught by big brother. Victimless crime IMO
starpunk
Age 15 is not old enough for anyone to have sex. And prostituting is always wrong, esp. for children and teens. They're not old enough to understand it.
Glam rocker Gary Glitter has a long pedo record. He's been under house arrest in his native UK, he was kicked out of Cambodia for these crimes and he served time even in Communist Vietnam for sex with minors. It's a no-no and a crime in practically every every nation under any ideology, including a rotten Communist government.
No it's not. Paying for anything is no fantasy. Most men's sexual fantasies are about women, and not paying for the thrill either.
Yes it is. Grody to the max!
Paustovsky
@starpunk
Hey, I'm quoting someone else. Don't make me look like a nonce.
Also, most Japanese 15 year olds look like 11 or 12 year olds in comparison to the rest of the world. He probably wanted school uniform the hentai oyaji.
rcch
Disgusting.
El Rata
I don't know about you but I still remember when I was 15 and I was well aware about the differences between good and bad. I think what he did was wrong but since the girl willingly met him at a hotel she knew what she was getting into. I believe it is not okay to sleep with minors but in the case of older teenagers it's always better to analyse the situation from all perspectives.
I'm actually more concerned about government overreach in this particular case.
Strangerland
I believe all prefectures set it at 18.
Hiro
Ah, twitter. A heaven for predators.
Yubaru
Nah, the number crunchers wont count it for a variety of reasons. It should be statutory rape, but it wont get charged like that.
daikaka
100% chance that the girl is doing this to make money for her host. Most girls who turn to this are first told of the method by their hosts.
Rodney
I think the thirteen age is for marriage with all parents consent.
TokyoLiving
And in ALL THE WORLD also because of the pandemic, unfortunately it doesn't only happen in Japan, paying for sex with a teenager is the fantasy of many men everywhere...
You love drama, right??..
sakurasuki
https://japantoday.com/category/crime/no.-of-serious-sex-offenses-in-japan-rises-sharply-in-2022
This number will increase too in 2023.
RKL
So the girl didn't complain.