A 47-year-old junior high school teacher in Ibaraki was arrested on Sunday, accused of engaging in indecent behavior with a 15-year-old high school girl he met through a cell phone dating site.
Hiroshi Saito, a social studies teacher at a junior high school in Hitachinaka City, is suspected of breaking child prostitution laws when he allegedly took the high school girl to a hotel in Tsuchiura City in early October last year, paid her 20,000 yen and engaged in indecent behavior, police said.
Saito told police he did it as he was stressed out from work.
© News reports
49 Comments
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neverknow2
I don't understand what he did wrong because the story does not say what he actually did.
telecasterplayer
creep
Altria
Takes two to tango - lock em both up!
herefornow
I doubt he'll be "stressed out from work" much longer.
neverknow2
Foul language, talking on their phone while on the train, not standing up for a pregnant woman on the train, spitting on someone smoking in a shopping center. All examples of indecent behaviour. Is everyone assuming it was sex? The story doesn't mention sex.
Samuraiiki
Can't the Japanese just say the words "having sex". Why do they have to cover it with indecent behavior? Is it so they will not look bad? After all, sex education starts in the school.
Wakarimasen
Must be sex 'cause refers to child prostitution. Ibarraki again, eh? he new Saitama......
bobcatfish
neverknow2 - they are examples of rude or offensive behaviour. indecent behaviour is sexual by nature.
williamsmith
What's wrong with this? She wasn't his student.
blvtzpk
Nice to see that excuse making a comeback!
soldave
"Indecent behaviour"? So was it stautory rape, sexual assault, sex with a minor or what? Suspended sentence on the way for you!
williamsmith
But, she wasn't his student, not a his school, met online. Who cares?
saborichan
Yeah, it specifies 'lewd'. So whilst it might not be the items soldave mentioned, it was probably illegal.
nath
I would hope so - since he was arrested for it. It does not mention whether she was arrested. Mabe that part is in another story somewhere. But my guess is that his indecency was not in forcing her to participate in a cell phone dating site.
bamboohat
Did he get his money back?
Midnightpromise
15 year old girl, cell phone dating site, went to a hotel willingly, money exchanged hands, that bastard, abusing such a nice young girl.
sharky1
It is abuse, any way you look at it. Girls of that age typically suffer from inner turmoil, role confusion, and do not have a concrete perspective on appropriate world views. Evidently, he is not the only person to take advantage of her. I hope the cops get her cell phone and do some competent investigating to see who else is taking advantage of her.
bobbafett
When I was 14-15 girls were experimenting just like boys and getting on allover town. There was no problem with it at the time.
Its just when its a dirty old man that does it to a girl, its a problem for everyone.
Anyway, she was hardly a virgin and probably has had more partners than him being a prostitute and all.
I don't see her as a victim but I see her and him as law breakers.
nath
which one is the worst ? a 47 years old guy who pay 20000 to having sex with a 15 yo girl. Or a 15 years girl who sell herself fro 20000 JPY?
maybe the police can arrest her too to breaking the prostitution law.
nath
to midnightpromise
Do you really can thinking that Nice young girl can be used for a 20,000 Jpy value person. don't think that women are goods and pure. if it was my daughter she will regret that the police don't arrest her.
realist
Another day, another perv in old Japan.
Dennis Bauer
because he we was stressed at work? i rather think that he did it because he was horney
nath
How did he get caught? There's no mention of that? Was the girl part of a sting, which is why he only got charged with lewd behaviour? Did she get to keep the money? Is turning supergrass going to be the new enko?
nath
That sounds cheap. Maybe the love hotel was expensive. I wonder if he rented her one of school girl outfits! Oh yeah, I forgot, she probably had her own.
hoserfella
I see some of the usual suspects here poo-pooing the situation. And sweating the fact that perhaps Japan isn't their sexual paradise after all. Scumbags like this teacher should rot in jail.
helloklitty
You mean, who is better? I'd say he's better because he gave her a lot of money, but she gave him a lot of pleasure ... wait a minute, it depends on how much pleasure was given before I can answer your question.
Helly
Stressed out at work... That seems to be an excuse for every j-creep out there. How about we let him get stressed out in prison?
sensei258
Where I come from, it's statutory rape even if she started it, paid HIM for it, and paid for the hotel. Stuuuupid.
BBLeo
Accused believe that sex is good for stress. He said that he is out of work. Where does he get money for prostitution? She is 15 and he is 47. Is this girl also out of work and need sex for her stress? What a crap. Why doesn't just he say that he needs sex with young girl? Lock them both up into one cell, this way he will get sex for free. 'WORLD IS CORRUPT WITH SEXISM AND PROSTITUTION.' Did he want also be her big ‘DADDY?’ Sorry I mean also to mention that she was trying to buy her school books or dirty books for other girls to experiment sexism. She could as well be called aprentice prostitute.
Disillusioned
It takes two to tango. She knew what she was doing just as much as he did. And, I dare say it's probably not the first time she's done either.
Kevin Lee Brooke
williamsmith at 11:47 AM JST - 26th January "But, she wasn't his student, not a his school, met online. Who cares?"
People with scruples and a brain - would be my guess...
moonbeams
i would argue that teenagers who sell their bodies need counseling, support and help, not jail
weatherjp
BBLeo: read the article again. You've got it all wrong. Hint: "stressed out from work" does not mean "stressed from being out of work"
likeitis
Agreed. That is stupid. I am glad I am in Japan and not where you come from.
Everybody, the girl will live, though certainly her parents' hopes of her becoming a famous brain surgeon are ruined. If only she had not done this, who knows how high she migh have reached! sob
neverknow2
Bobcatfish- Point taken!
but I also found this definition for indecent:
not in keeping with accepted standards of what is right or proper in polite society
bobbafett
Correct. But what is polite in Japanese society is merely a facade. Tatemae (建前)and Honne (本音).
tkdmantis
what about "To Catch a Predator: Japan"
MeanRingo
weatherjp said: BBLeo: read the article again. You've got it all wrong. Hint: "stressed out from work" does not mean "stressed from being out of work"
Nope, "Stressed out from being out of work" is the excuse he will use the next time he gets caught banging an underage whore. After that it will be the alcohol that leads him astray.
bcbrownboy
Ahhh, how sweet it is - got our morning titillation along with our coffee.
JeanValJean
47-year-old going on 19, going down on 15-year-old...Is this news??? So What!? Should he? No. Should SHE? NO! She did because she wanted money...like many others, here and in every corner of the world. Hence, it's the oldest profession. Simple result of Law of Supply & Demand. Move on!
Midnightpromise
****to akuma1985
Yea, OK, to whatever you said
See sarcasm in websters
Molenir
Think it would be great if they finally got around to instituting statutory rape laws to prevent this kind of crap from happening.
seggahme
how he was caught?
sensei258
Next time he should ask for two forms of picture ID, and have the person sign a release form.
likeitis
There are already laws against teenage prostitution. Yet, it still sometimes happens. Like it or not, laws punish, they do not directly prevent anything. Only fear of punishment prevents, and that never works 100 percent and never will.
Anyway, I do not see the big problem. Why do we have to get stricter and stricter about this? Seems like everything is stable enough here. If you are shooting for 100 percent, I tell you again, you won't get it. You would be lucky if stricter pursuit of the age of consent resulted in a fraction of a percent of change in that direction. Honestly, why care so much?
And have you considered there could be negative consequences? I am now seeing a girl in her twenties who went to an all girl's school in high school. She had no experience with males, dating or related, until college. She has some real problems with dating, and yes, sex, and I do not think her high school days are unrelated. Nor do I think she would have been equally messed up for dating an older guy. In fact, I am an older guy, and she says I am the only person that interested her at all. Even with my experience it is not easy to undue the damage.
Molenir
I'm not following what you're saying here. You think that because a girl attends a Girls school, and doesn't experience dating/sex etc until she is in college, that its ok for underage girls to experience them? You want older guys to be able to go after underage girls? And what damage are you talking about? Being sheltered from the bad things guys do to girls? Thinking that sex should be between married couples?
trente_sylphs
What bugs me out if how did the cops find out? The girl could have been working for the police as well..
techall
Teaches "Social Studies", well, internet dating is a social activity and I guess he could claim it was a study of some type.
the_sicilian
The funny thing is she could have strung him along saying she was 18. Now before people start gasping, "oh, you can tell the difference", well, if you live here, quite a bit of the time, you can't. So that could be the case.
OR
He wanted some young stuff, and was trolling the sites for it. And got it.
Either way, he should be locked up for a while. And anyone who would think the girl really had no idea of what she was doing is ignorant at best. Those Louis Vitton handbags are very expensive.
Ciao