crime

Brazilian pilot arrested on suspicion of sexually assaulting woman

53 Comments

A 27-year-old Brazilian pilot has been arrested on suspicion of sexually assaulting a woman he invited to his residence after meeting her on a subway train.

The suspect works as a pilot for Air Japan, a charter airline run by a subsidiary of All Nippon Airways (ANA). According to police, the incident occurred on July 15, when the suspect started talking to the woman in her 20s, who was returning home on the Tokyo Metro Hanzomon Line, Fuji TV reported. The suspect then invited the victim to his apartment in Sumida Ward, where he is accused of sexually assaulting her.

Police said the suspect has denied the charge and quoted him as saying he didn’t "forcibly do anything.”

Police say they are investigating whether the man has committed similar offenses from his pattern of repeatedly inviting women to his home.

Air Japan issued a statement, saying: “We will strictly deal with the incident as soon as the facts have been established.”

© Japan Today

©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.

53 Comments
Login to comment

Err I fly with ANA often for business, I think I know

Personal anecdotes are not solid evidence of something occurring.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

So you made your claim without actually having looked into it. Got it.

Err I fly with ANA often for business, I think I know

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Considering everytime an announcement comes it's 99.9% Japanese, this is your captain blah speaking

Are you seriously claiming that only Japanese people speak Japanese as evidence to support your assertion that ANA doesn't employ foreign pilots?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Do Japanese people who are friends regularly visit each other's domiciles? Do Japanese regularly visit the domiciles of people they just met?

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Exhibit A demonstrating the severe lack of common sense that inflicts modern societies. As if the simple act of walking out ones front door is analogous to a young woman being enticed into a mans apartment alone 30 minutes after meeting she first met him.

It should not be necessary to say this but of course he was wrong to, allegedly, force himself on her. But that’s not the point. It is common sense to assume people you don’t know are not automatically trustworthy. Humans have been around for a very long time yet in the last 50 years they seemed to have forgetting the lessons that served them well for eons. It’s this same lack of awareness that sees old people get robbed of their life’s savings.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

So, based on what posters here have written, if a man I have met, get on with, and don't think is a risk to me, invites me to his place for a coffee, a glass of wine, a meal, I am meant to have sex with him?

Of course there is no obligation. But if you live here for any amount of time you will know that people dont visit each other's houses very often. Nowhere near as much as other countries where it would be common to go over for a cup of tea, or even hold a small party with friends. Being invited to someone's house here is seen as a sign of very close friendship/trust. Houses are smaller, and as a result, often messier so going to someones house is very much a look into their private life.

If a guy invites you into his house alone, it probably means he has tidied the place up, and possibly even prepared toothbrushes and extra pillows for you to stay the night. What you do after that is entirely your own choice though.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

I would agree with Strangerland....but also having met the guy on a train and so suddenly going to his house...there is a risk associated with that as well.

The guy was actually arrested so the lady must have made a pretty severe case. I guess now he gets held for 20 something days without access to counsel. I am sure ANA is digging deep to get to the bottom of this but the fact he was actually arrested probably ends his tenure here.

Would be interesting to hear how this one plays out.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Whatever the case is this pilot is done for. Air Japan does not like to be in the news. I am curious how the police know that this is a pattern for this guy. Was he under surveillance or did he tell them so? Or did they rely on the young lady's information? Having been a young single guy in my 20's (long ago) I would also be trying to pick up women as well. However there is nothing in the article that says he is single. Tough deal as we do not have enough information to know.

Regarding Air Japan - Kenji Fujimori's assumption is wrong and the Japan Today article also is incorrect. Air Japan is not a "charter airline". Air Japan is a "kogaisha" of ANA which is run as something between a low cost carrier and a major airline. All of the senior management is dispatched from ANA. All of their routes are Asian routes (mostly to China) with the exception of handling a couple of Honolulu flights. Most of their pilots are foreign pilots with alot coming from the US, Australia, and other countries. They are not hired directly by ANA but are hired by a contract company and have return flights to their home country once a month as part of the contract. This is done to save cost (i.e. Air Japan being a pseudo LCC). I do not know if the pilot in this article is guilty of anything but the pilots have a pretty bad reputation when it comes to womanizing (with the cabin attendants and in general). Many are married actually and enjoy their time in Japan. So what does that mean? We have now way of telling whether or not this guy is guilty or not, his behavior is not unusually (for a guy his age in general for that matter), and he is probably done for as a pilot in Japan regardless of guilt or innocence.

As said before I am quite curious how the police knew he constantly invites women to his place.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

Did she think he invited her to his private residence to play chess?

Maybe. We don't know what he told her. That's one possibility.

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

There is a belief in Japan that if a girl goes to a guy apartment she is willing to have sex with the guy, NOT SO !! But a lot of foreigners do belief this to be true. In this case the guy being a foreigner & thinking the girl is willing to sex him up once they were alone came on to her and when she refused he forced her into doing something she did not want to do. Granted this is probably not the first time he has done this just the first time one of his victims stood up to him and reported the incident. As a pilot you would think the guy would be smart enough to understand that NO means NO and not all women are willing to be your play toy. Great to know that she was strong enough to stand up for her self and report him to the authorities. Many women in Japan do not they just keep things bottled up inside.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

A pattern of inviting women to your room, does not make a single male a rapist. In fact, it seems quite normal for a single male in this, and many other societies. Now if the police were to find a pattern of assaults… but even then it would not establish the facts in this case. Forensic evidence, on the other hand…

4 ( +4 / -0 )

blame it on the bossa nova...

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

I don't see any evidence to accuse the man (violence, use of knife, forbidden to leave, etc) so it is one say against another. You need to prove guilt !

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Wolfpack, well said.

Btw, speaking for myself as a man, I would never accept an invitation to visit anyones home - man or woman - the same night I had just met them on the train and chatted for 30 minutes. Even in my younger naieve days. I think any 8 year old child would think the same - japanese or not.

5 ( +7 / -2 )

So, based on what posters here have written, if a man I have met, get on with, and don't think is a risk to me, invites me to his place for a coffee, a glass of wine, a meal, I am meant to have sex with him?

I don’t think anyone is saying that you are required to have sex with him. But how can you know a guy for 30 minutes and trust him enough to go alone with him to his apartment? Are you not are aware that many men are constantly looking for sex? Men are on average larger and stronger than women. Men are hard wired to seek out sex. Ever hear of Darwinism and all that this scientific theory implies?

Yes, women should be able to do anything they want and feel safe but that isn’t the reality of the world - it never has been. That is why societies developed ways to protect women from men who do bad things. It’s as if some women have decided that human nature doesn’t apply to them despite all of the evidence to the contrary. Be smart and teach women to protect themselves and not take stupid risks like this women did. If she was assaulted it was not her fault. But I would hope that society would be more proactive in teaching women about basic human nature and instinct. Don’t become a victim because feminists tell you to ignore reality.

9 ( +11 / -2 )

Considering everytime an announcement comes it's 99.9% Japanese, this is your captain blah speaking

So you made your claim without actually having looked into it. Got it.

0 ( +5 / -5 )

"So, based on what posters here have written, if a man I have met, get on with, and don't think is a risk to me, invites me to his place for a coffee, a glass of wine, a meal, I am meant to have sex with him?"

"Police say they are investigating whether the man has committed similar offenses from his pattern of repeatedly inviting women to his home."

This will determined what and who he is; subsequently, what will become of him. Not what JT "experts" with all their unparalleled wisdom are trying to preach!!!

1 ( +2 / -1 )

@Strangerland

Considering everytime an announcement comes it's 99.9% Japanese, this is your captain blah speaking

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

it safer to believe that every man I meet and get on with is a risk to me?

Safer. But probably lonlier.

3 ( +6 / -3 )

So, based on what posters here have written, if a man I have met, get on with, and don't think is a risk to me, invites me to his place for a coffee, a glass of wine, a meal, I am meant to have sex with him?

Or is it safer to believe that every man I meet and get on with is a risk to me?

-3 ( +1 / -4 )

Strangerland, until not so long ago in japan ( and possibly still now) judges and police would ask females exactly that question, 'why did you go alone to his home if you didnt expect to have sex?'

I bet it still happens even now.

Which changes nothing I have said.

0 ( +5 / -5 )

Strangerland, until not so long ago in japan ( and possibly still now) judges and police would ask females exactly that question, 'why did you go alone to his home if you didnt expect to have sex?'

I dont like it but its fact.

-3 ( +3 / -6 )

How many foreign pilots fly ANA, none I heard of

And how many times exactly have you looked into it?

-1 ( +6 / -7 )

How many foreign pilots fly ANA, none I heard of

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Rightly or wrongly, EVERY girl in japan knows that going to the home of a male they arent completely confident about (eg a trusted friend etc) means they are making thenselves available for sex

And then in the real world...

3 ( +8 / -5 )

Rightly or wrongly, EVERY girl in japan knows that going to the home of a male they arent completely confident about (eg a trusted friend etc) means they are making thenselves available for sex . Thats japanese culture. And let alone a stranger just met on a train that night. Get real.

3 ( +9 / -6 )

Why did she go to the house of someone she just met on a train?

Maybe she thought he was a nice guy.

What did she think might happen?

Maybe she thought they would talk and it would be romantic, and maybe next time they could go on a date.

Or any of an infinite number of other things that weren't with the thought or intention of having sex.

-1 ( +6 / -7 )

And out come the victim blamers, crawling from under their rocks.

We don’t know who the victim is yet. An accusation isn’t the end of the case. It’s the beginning.

7 ( +8 / -1 )

Why did she go to the house of someone she just met on a train? What did she think might happen? Oh but that's victim blaming. Only guys have to be responsible. Sorry...

7 ( +11 / -4 )

Like Strangerland, I thought we went all through this twenty years ago with Mike Tyson. If a woman goes to a man's house or hotel room, that is not consent. That line was drawn in the last century.

The police may be taking this more seriously than they would if the perp was Japanese, but institutionalized racism/xenophobia is a separate issue. I hope he gets a fair hearing as a non-Japanese, but if he did something she didn't consent to, that makes him a criminal.

7 ( +9 / -2 )

Strangerland, riiight. Enjo kosai, the sex manga, pornography and sexual content of japanese tv etc etc that children in this country are exposed to on a daily basis from childhood, not to mention the internet simply dont exist.

Yeah, claiming they don't exist would be absolutely ridiculous.

Which is why I never did such a thing.

What I don't understand is how you in any way believe that's a counter to anything I've said.

0 ( +5 / -5 )

The girl was either super naive or not naive at all....hard to tell which without more details.

It's impossible to tell. But not unreasonable to think she may have been super naive, as many Japanese girls. I'd say there are way more naive girls in Japan than there are who would fit this description:

On the contrary, he must have been more suspicious about her, I mean picking up a girl in the subway and taking her home right away in such an easy way...that has the word fishy written all over...if it were my country I'd be pretty worried about getting drugged and getting my kidneys harvested after that...

5 ( +9 / -4 )

@marcelito yeah, one of two extremes...very good observation...

3 ( +4 / -1 )

@Strangeland I agree with you 100%, these are all very valid hypotheses and they should all be considered for careful examination...I just pointed out that the initial circumstances are a bit suspicious...

1 ( +4 / -3 )

All the posters who have determined he’s innocent - use some logic. Date rapes are a very real thing. Now that’s not to say he’s guilty - declaring that would be just as illogical as determining him guilty. None of us know what happened in that room. She could be a scammer, or he could be a rapist, or it could be a combination of both or neither. It’s pretty ridiculous to just decide he’s the victim here.

11 ( +16 / -5 )

And out come the victim blamers, crawling from under their rocks.

-11 ( +7 / -18 )

@Vince Black

Yes, I definitely smell some foul play here...

He did not force her into his place or anything anyway...if she was raped or something like that then it is another issue, but if she has no signs of violence on her and she wasn't drugged then she most likely agreed on it didn't she? Plus this guy does not sound like your typical creep does he?

On the contrary, he must have been more suspicious about her, I mean picking up a girl in the subway and taking her home right away in such an easy way...that has the word fishy written all over...if it were my country I'd be pretty worried about getting drugged and getting my kidneys harvested after that...

-1 ( +7 / -8 )

Sounds like a set up to me.

THis girl just wants some money, I mean, she accompanied him to his house didn't she?

But of course the male foreigner is in the wrong...

0 ( +10 / -10 )

hard to tell if things were really violent and were getting dangerously out of hand at his place or if she is making it up after willingly doing something with the guy...

-1 ( +4 / -5 )

we are warned since we are kids, never talk to strangers and if you do, going to a person's house you just met is a clear sign you will get something or you are after something which she obviously got... i dont know whos the victim here now

7 ( +16 / -9 )

sounds like pretty legit nampa...

once again that blurry line between consent and no consent comes into play...

at least they didn't reveal the guy's name as to put him to shame...

10 ( +14 / -4 )

Guilty, off to the stockades or off with his head....Seriously, seems more like these women want some compensation since he has a pretty good income flow as a pilot. Probably wanted a free travel trip and he couldn't come through so they cried foul.

0 ( +14 / -14 )

Login to leave a comment

Facebook users

Use your Facebook account to login or register with JapanToday. By doing so, you will also receive an email inviting you to receive our news alerts.

Facebook Connect

Login with your JapanToday account

User registration

Articles, Offers & Useful Resources

A mix of what's trending on our other sites