Police said Friday they have arrested a man in Kazo, Saitama Prefecture, over the alleged abduction of a minor on Thursday.
According to police, at around 4:20 p.m. the 38-year-old man, who has been identified as Toshimi Arai, led the 9-year-old girl, who was walking by herself, from a road into the shade of a tree around 30 meters away. He is believed to have taken the girl by the arm while saying, "Come on. Let's play."
A woman who knew the girl saw her with the man and became concerned. She called the girl's name, at which point Arai left the scene. The girl's father later called the police, who took Arai into custody.
Arai was quoted by police as saying: "She was cute and I wanted to play with her. I wanted to give her a hug."
© Compiled from news reports
37 Comments
Login to comment
chotto
Does it get any more creepy than this?
worried
Why is it always Saitama!
nath
I'm glad for the girl. This could have ended very badly.
keika1628
all hear say from the police and compiled from news reports , Let's just hang him up .
bicultural
Let's hope that's all he wanted to do. What a creep.
WA4TKG
Let me bring him to Iraq with me, and put him outside "The Wire".
BurakuminDes
Big, working-class city = loads of crime.
NYC_Samurai
Big hug to the woman who had enough instinct to determine something was fishy and call the girls name. Even bigger and longer hug to Arai san, but with a rough braided rope.
BurakuminDes
here, here. I'm sure everyone agrees with this. Let's just hope the girl is OK psychologically after this crime.
Elbuda Mexicano
This 9 year old kid better learn not to talk to strangers, especially not to men she doe not even know, you could have been raped, killed etc..she is one very lucky girl!
WilliB
Its been a while since Saitama was in the news...
Sarge
Abduction? The guy led her 30 meters from a road to a tree in plain sight. Is that abduction?
Toddo
A cause for concern. A cause for hanging? People rushing to that judgement are a greater cause for concern.
He lead her 30 meters to a tree, visible to a witness, not 5 meters to a car. If his goal was to do her harm, I think he could have done that in the time alotted.
Remember, such ballistic responses serve to make good men hesitant to do what this woman did, and make sure the girl was okay. The last thing any of us want is to have our motives mistaken and have people chanting about a hanging. Hint: that does not make the world safer for children.
Disillusioned
Toddo, are you actually defending this kind of action? This pathetic excuse for a human is a letch and should be locked up. How would you feel if your 9y/o daughter was lured away by a man? "It's knee capping time!" - Just for starters.
sensei258
Being in "plain sight" doesn't matter. Molestation or rape could happen in seconds.
sensei258
I don't know what the law in Japan says, but "conspiracy" to commit a certain crime is often punishable in the same way as the intended crime would have been. Conspiracy defined as having a plan, and taking steps toward that end. Even the "hug" he talked about could be considered a "sexual assault". Not because of what part he may have touched, but if he did it to satisfy his "desire", whether or not the girl felt she was a victim.
3RENSHO
"This 9 year old kid better learn not to talk to strangers, especially not to men she doe not even know, you could have been raped, killed etc"
The earlier to begin inculcating paranoia, the better.
Toddo
Disillusioned, you have not met the man, yet you judge harshly and presume heavily. I am not defending the action as much as I am appealing against the type of paranoia 3RENSHO thinks is a wonderful thing. Paranoia will make things worse. A paranoid society that speaks of knee-capping and hanging off the cuff makes men like this one paranoid too and that is when things really get bad. He was seen and reported and caught precisely because no one of the three people in this story was paranoid. Can't you see that?
How would I feel if it were my child? Concerned, but not instantly judgemental and definitely not vindictive. I would get to know the guy and judge from there. He might be a rock-spider, but then he might just be a harmless lonely guy who is actually protective of children.
MeanRingo
Wow! Toddo.
Tom DeMicke
All things should be considered here as mentioned above, but he should not have physically touched her in anyway, shape, or form for any reason other than if her life was in imminent danger.
mrjack
Toddo...........Lets lend him one of your children and see where it goes, then you can get to know him.
Nicky Washida
"This 9 year old kid better learn not to talk to strangers, especially not to men she doe not even know, you could have been raped, killed etc"
The earlier to begin inculcating paranoia, the better.
Teaching young girls (and boys) not to talk to strangers or go with them anywhere is hardly instigating paranoia. It is a sensible step any parent should take. I regularly tell my children 99% of people are good but 1% are bad and the problem is you just can`t usually tell the difference so for safety, if anyone tries to take them away, run to the nearest store or adult and call someone to help - me, her dad or the police.
I agree however, that the guy didnt actually do anything, and last time I checked we werent prosecuting people for what they "might" do. He sounds mentally not quite all there to me, and needs help, not a lynching. He should be off the streets for his own protection, as much as for the children.
worried
Miamum, a 38 year old man led a 9 year old child away to a tree, by her arm, saying he wanted to play with her. Whether or not he is mentally all there, what he did was wrong. If that woman had not intervened and called her name, who knows what would have happened. If he truely was not all there or harmless, then why did he run away? He KNEW what he was doing was wrong, and so escaped.
Indefensible. As much as I think he deserves a kneecapping, lets hope he just gets locked up and kept far away from children.
Giving a man the benefit of the doubt in this situation is very dangerous indeed. What 38 year old wants to play innocently with a 9 year old girl! Come on!
Toddo
mrjack, I am a father in this country. How about you? I am not talking about throwing children around to random strangers. I am talking about remaining calm. Why? Because a calm society is safer for my child and that is a big reason I live here, in Japan, and not in a place populated by paranoids who have made things more dangerous for children. Their ideas and paranoia are welcome to stay over there. I do not want to move country again.
worried
I truely hope that your children, Toddo, never come across an individual who does not mean well to them. It is playing Russian roulette with people`s safety. We would all like to live in a world where it is safe for children to speak to strangers, but that is not the reality we live in, not even in Japan.
That poor little girl who was murdered in toilet in a supermarket in Kumamoto probably had parents who liked to be relaxed and calm about her safety. That worked out really well for her didn`t it.
Men know not to approach children in this way. Anyone who does, does not mean well. I tell my children if they get lost, to ask a woman, or else a police man or woman for help, never ask help from a strange man if they can help it.
Children need to be taught that anyone they do not know is potentially dangerous to them, and freaks like this man can never be given the benefit of the doubt.
Toddo
If everyone gets paranoid there will be more little girls dead in supermarkets, not less. It is absurd to dig one case out of the trash to try and prove that the way of a society is dangerous. Only statistics can tell you that. Japan has a good reputation. No one has a perfect reputation and no one ever will.
It is also absurd to speak of his motives as "not meaning well" as if you are a mind reader and an eyewitness rolled in one. You are neither. I trust the police and court system to sort that question out far more than a random poster on the internet, and my feelings about the police and courts here are less than positive.
mackemack
If I'm paranoid, then lock me up in a nuthouse. Being paranoid doesn't mean some crazy dude isn't stalking my 9yo daughter. I'd rather be paranoid...and her safe.
worried
Im not paranoid. Its only paranoia when there is no risk. My youngest kids do not go into bathrooms alone in public. I, or their father takes them and waits for them. So the freaks will never get the chance to do anything. I keep a distant but keen eye on them when they go out to play, and they know where they are allowed to go. If this makes me paranoid, in your eyes, fine. I know Ill never be mourning my children because some paedo has hurt them, because Ill simply never let that happen.
You are defending a man, Toddo, who led a 9 year old girl away and ran when he was questioned. Of course he didnt mean well.
I truely hope your lax attitude to safety does not have real world consequences.
Nicky Washida
Worried - I understand your concern and I AGREE with it so I am not quite sure why you are attacking me??! I never said in my post to give him the benefit of the doubt - I think I said he should be locked up? I also never suggested a 38 year old man would want to play innocently with a 9 year old girl.
My only point is that he didnt actually DO anything, (thanks to the quick thinking woman quite probably) and you cant lynch people for what they might do. This man is obviously a potential threat to children and needs to be off the streets - which is exactly what I suggested.
I have 3 young children myself so I totally understand your opinions that some may call "paranoid" - I dont think that at all, but be careful when you let rip at people that you dont attack the very ones that are actually agreeing with you!
worried
Mias mum, you said he did not do anything wrong. So you would have been happy and still held that opinion if it had been your child he led away by the arm toplay`. He is being charged with attempted abduction, which is precisely what he did. The fleeing clinched it dont you think?
Nicky Washida
Where exactly did I say he did not do anything wrong???! All I said was that he didnt "do" anything - what I meant by that is that he didnt harm her and so calling for a lynching as some previous posters were suggesting seemed a little extreme to me.
I am not suggesting for a second that the guy is innocent as I think I made clear - he needs to be off the streets.
Of course I wouldnt have been happy if he had led my child away. But I wouldnt call for a lynching if he had simply led her to a tree 30 metres away in plain view of other people and then been stopped - I would simply call for him to be off the streets and away from children - especially based on what he said to the police later on which still doesn`t sound like the response of a normal mentally stable individual to me. It seems that he was known in the area too, if the police were able to find him so easily.
Im not sure if he fled, or simply walked away, it is not clear from the report. It is his statement to the police that makes me think a) he had intent when he led her away and b) he is mentally not all there. For these reasons I think he should be off the streets, but lynched? I think thats a little extreme.
kittyjump
Not enough info at all. I agree, sad to live in a paranoid society.
One thing- Miamum, you should not teach your kids to call "help", you should teach them to call "fire" , women as well, if attacked.
Hearing "help" many consider the danger to themselves and run away, leaving a victim more isolated. Fire gets everyone's attention.
602miko
i dont think his innocent and just wanted to hug the lil girl, jeeezzzz thats crazy.
worried
I agree however, that the guy didnt actually do anything, and last time I checked we werent prosecuting people for what they "might" do. He sounds mentally not quite all there to me, and needs help, not a lynching
Mias mum, ,this is what I had an issue with. He led a child away, by the arm, saying he wanted to play with her. He only ran away when he was challenged by the woman in the street. He led this girl away, he touched her arm to do so. This is notnothing` is it? It was an abduction which was thwarted by a (wonderful) passerby. The second he touched her arm it became something.
I understand some women defend men, no matter what they do, some kind of Stockholm syndrome, or desire to be accepted by males perhaps. However, what this man did was indefensible, nor was it nothing. Believe me, if this was my daughter he led by the arm for 30 metres and expressed a desire to play with her, I would want the full force of the law upon him.
seggahme
@miamum
dontpanic
worried, youre overreacting. The full force of the law would be what...a telling off for being inappropriate? Clearly the guy needs help, he should know better.
flechettes
sounds like she got lucky that someone saw her and knew her name and she ran away... wonder if this man was up to no good, sure sounds like it.