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On the night of Jan 24, a criminal incident occurred in the town of Nikko, Tochigi Prefecture. A mountain resort famed for its beautiful natural scenery and historical buildings, Nikko is a popular destination for leisure travelers in east Japan, and on the night in question a 24-year-old woman from another part of Tochigi was at a hotel in the city, no doubt expecting to have a pleasant evening enjoying the local hospitality. Unfortunately, a 60-year-old Tochigi resident who was also at the hotel decided to enjoy himself by squeezing the woman’s chest without her consent.
Details are still scarce, with the exact location within the hotel where the groping took place, any events leading up to it, and whether the victim knew the man or not all unclear. What does seem clear, though, is that the touching was unwanted, as the police were summoned and the man arrested on suspicion of forced indecency, the customary legal charge for groping in Japan.
The vast majority of the time in Japan, criminals admit to their wrongdoing when caught. In this case, though, the man has denied the charges…or at least he half-denies them. When told he was being arrested for grabbing the woman’s breasts and body, he asserted:
“I touched her breast, but I did not touch both of them.”
Odds are that declaration was met by baffled silence by whichever law enforcement member was taking his statement, but Twitter commenters had the following to say:
“…what?”
“That’s his defense?”
“Well, at least he’s honest.”
“How can you live to be 60 and still be so dumb?”
“So, if it’s just one, does he think it’s OK?”
“Is there some sort of custom in Tochigi that it’s all right as long as you’re just grabbing one?”
“One breast or two, I’m pretty sure it’s still the same crime.”
And yes, what the last commenter said is correct. Anti-groping laws don’t operate under American pro football “It’s not a catch if the receiver doesn’t have two feet down” logic, and so there’s no “It’s not a grope unless you’ve got hands on both breasts” leeway.
Linguistically, the accused does have kind of a point, though. In the Japanese language, there’s generally no difference between singular and plural nouns. Ringo, for example, is the word for both “apple” and “apples,” and mune can be used for both “breast” and “breasts.” So when the man was told he was being arrested for touching the woman’s mune, it could be interpreted as either one or both, and he wanted to make it clear that while he was admitting to touching the woman’s mune, he denied touching ryomune (“both breasts”)
Maybe he thinks that limiting the scale of the groping to one half of the woman’s chest will make it easier to bargain for a lighter punishment. As in the case of the other man in Japan who recently admitted to robbing a taxi driver but denied that he used impolite speech in the process, though, it’s unlikely to get him off the hook.
Sources: Tochigi TV via Yahoo! Japan News via Otakomu, Twitter
Read more stories from SoraNews24.
-- Groper in Japan says he couldn’t resist “young females’ breasts,” all victims much older than him
-- Man arrested for pretending to be blind so he could grope woman’s chest in Tokyo
-- Japanese man arrested for groping woman in station says he’ll only talk to female police officers
- External Link
- https://soranews24.com/2023/01/30/groper-arrested-in-japan-insists-he-did-not-grab-both-breasts-but-just-one/
41 Comments
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didou
Only one, then half of the time for the sentence
obladi
I'm thinking that the victim of this attack would not treat the situation so lightly as the author of this article.
Yubaru
Wisdom does not automatically come with age. And whomever wrote this comment should keep that in mind as they get older!
Moonraker
Forced indecency? Sounds rather innocuous compared to sexual assault. Maybe it needs to be taken more seriously.
Fighto!
Another sick creep who needs to be removed from civilised society.
YeahRight
So just cut off one hand instead of both of them.
SaikoPhysco
I laughed when I read that he "only grabbed just one". What the hell is the difference... and he incriminated himself. What a fool!
Michael Machida
How did he make the choice?
Chico3
So, he just grabbed one. So that makes is okay? How is that a lesser crime?
Nibek32
He is probably kicking himself now for only going with one.
kohakuebisu
It's all fun and games till it's your daughter on the receiving end.
thelonius
Given the weirdness of Japan's legal system, I would not be surprised if this results in a lighter punishment.
Mark
Okay Sir, Then the penalty will be reduced by 50%, LOL
Paul
It's always someones daughter or a wife....
SDCA
Real life Master Roshi
lostrune2
Was it the left? Or the right?
That could make the difference between life and death /s
Sven Asai
You are all very generous, giving him a 50% rebate. I would only give at max. 25%. 50% is for planning or intending and trying alone and the other half is for setting the crime really into practice, but as he did only the half, a 25% reduction over the whole thing would be fitting.
Luna
sora news must be getting desperate. This is the only story they can think of?
Strangerland
I seriously doubt he meant it as a defense.
And no one has actually said it would be.
KariHaruka
His punishment should be to lose one of his two nuts...
It's "just one", right?
starpunk
Do 'half the crime', do 'half the time'! Not to mention, he's 60!
ebisen
...and to add to this, as virtually all females in Japan use padded (almost hardshell) bras, what he touched was that, not the breast... What an idiot...
starpunk
Gee, I only grabbed one melon, not two. And I did not grab her by the .......... so give me a break this time, pleeeeeeeeeaaaasssssssssseeeee.......?????????????????
Random
SoraNews is the Jerry Springer of journalism.
Pukey2
Give him half the jail time.
Thomas Twatt
In a nation so absolutely fixated on strict linguistic rigour, ‘correctness’ and formal exactitude, it seems bizarre that this would be worthy of mockery.
TT
itsonlyrocknroll
“I touched her breast, but I did not touch both of them.”
The sixty year old groper had better not rely/fall back to such a defence in court.
The learned Judge/s are not renowned for a keen sense of humour
sir_bentley28
Touch one and win a free trip to a cell! What a stupid defense.
Hercolobus
I did not order two breasts. Only one breast and one thigh. I want my money back. Well, since you touched both, no refunds.
it is called inconsequential.
japancat
The police need to keep 'a'breast of this case.
Lindsay
So, he only copped half a feel. I guess his reasoning is he’ll only get half the sentence.
shogun36
Where are the body cam videos for these such incidents?
This is what you put on youtube and social media.
Not that staged falling down or stuffing your face crap, "Youtubers" call "content."
The individual(s) responsible for writing these words should also be investigated, for horrible analogies.
Well, then. It's just a matter of time, before conviction.
In the fall, with the spectacular falling leaves. In the winter, though? Who goes there in the winter?
Kazuaki Shimazaki
@theloniusToday 07:25 am JST
It might. It might even end up dropping it from Forced Indecency (Article 176) to Public Indecency (Article 174) or even "Trouble Prevention Ordinance" 迷惑防止条例 violation.
The more important of the two words is "Forced", namely, the oppression of the victim's ability, or at least exigibility, to resist. Note the emphasis placed on "inability to resist" even in quasi-forced indecency.
When two breasts are grabbed, there are two anchor points, while when one breast is grabbed, there's only one. It's not hard to understand that all else being even, it's a lot easier to break away from a single anchor point than two. This greatly complicates the prosecution's task of proving that the woman couldn't resist. If the woman could practically have resisted and escaped, then there's no Forced Indecency.
At least, if I'm his defense lawyer, since you basically don't "argue facts" in Japanese courts, I'd shoot for defending him by pushing this interpretation. Now I hope I don't get too many downvotes for just describing the law.
Strangerland
I don't thin anyone has claimed it's a lesser crime. Where did you see that?
Daninthepan
This is Japan shouldn't be pleading "I have no knowledge of touching the second"?
Bobo
1 or both hands on one breast? And how long for? Did he moing moing his hand/s? Lastly, was shes a D cup?
Speed
In Japan, if you commit two, it's the death penalty.