Police in Takasaki, Gunma Prefecture, have arrested a 56-year-old man on suspicion of sexual molesting a three-year-old girl after he allegedly kissed her while she was playing a video game at a commercial facility in May.
According to police, Hiroaki Wada, an office worker from Koshigaya, Saitama Prefecture, is accused of kissing the girl on the mouth as she played with a video game console inside a commercial facility in Takasaki, local media reported. The child was visiting the shopping center with her grandmother but was alone when the incident occurred.
Police said that after returning home, the girl told her mother what had happened and her mother called police. Wada emerged as a suspect after police reviewed surveillance camera footage at the scene.
Police said Wada has denied the charge and quoted him as saying, “I have no recollection of the incident.”
© Japan Today
41 Comments
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shogun36
Yikes..............some people just deserve to be exterminated.
Robert Hope
So a man kissed a 3 year old girl who was left alone to play video games in a shopping centre?
There is so much to question here. Why was a 3 year old left alone? Why didn't she tell the grandmother right away? What video games are 3 year olds playing? How did he get to her mouth as 3 year olds are famously quite short?
It all seems strange until the last sentence, the classic I don't remember this incident.
Pretty much secures his guilt.
Fighto!
Yet another sick paedophile. Lock this Hiroaki Wada creep up for a long time, ban him from any contact with children for life.
Btang
shogun36
"Yikes..............some people just deserve to be exterminated."
nandakandamanda
Sadly I have to agree with Robert Hope above. Would you leave a 3-yr old alone playing video games in a department store?
As to the perp, yuck! Was he stinky drunk?
SteveinJapan
You forgot, "I was under great stress".
snowymountainhell
Well, 2nd reported, similar case in a week. And, it takes some weeks to months to identify these creep but the police are following up. In the meantime, WE have to do our parts and remain more vigilant concerning our children, IN JAPAN.
snowymountainhell
The following comments will upset some readers here but these types of crimes, AND worse, are prevalent here IN JAPAN. -
ANY time, ANY place these predators, in Japan, see an opportunity, they will touch, kiss, expose themselves, photograph or try to physically take to your child.
So, parents need to keep a more watchful eye on their children, particularly in JAPAN. -
These predators are everywhere: schools, juku, club activities, sports & training facilities, playgrounds, game centers, hobby shops, toy stores, recreational areas, public restrooms, etc
Know where your child is. (You’re not a ‘helicopter parent’ if you see your elementary age child off to school each day.)
Tell you kids to ALWAYS walk in pairs, or groups and NEVER to be alone with non-family adult.
Johansawada
No age is too young for these creeps!
keep a close eye on your kids at all times folks
snowymountainhell
Hiroaki Wada, age 56, office worker, Koshigaya, Saitama Prefecture, “Come on down” as tonight’s “poster boy” and next candidate for the much needed, 24hour, publicly accessible, National Sexual Offenders Database
Yes, it won’t protect children from those NOT yet indentified by, at least, a first offense.
Maybe not in this case, (unless Game Center managers have “wanted posters” of known offenders in the area) but Japan would finally start to benefit from a 24hour, publicly accessible, National Sexual Offenders Database.
Still, it could help accounting for those institutional predators at schools, juku, sports & coaching facilities. Japan needs to stop their continued, migrating access to children across the country.
Michael Machida
Japan. I hope he gets life in prison for this.
KariHaruka
The paedophile will probably use the "I was drunk" excuse as his defence. And considering Japan's track record on handling crimes against children, he'll most likely get away with his filthy crime.
Mark
Hard to believe or imagine, but if true then he needs some serious help.
Pacific Saury
So he doesn’t remember. Point? I don’t remember killing anyone. Is that evidence that I did?
miss_oikawa
Leaving a 3 year old alone in a game centre????
Lunacy.
Jens Zier
Well, of course he says he doesn't remember. What else could he say?
"I swear to god I didn't know she was three!"?
Jonathan Prin
Dementia ?
Easy way to avoid any criminal charges.
Zaphod
Well.... kissing babies is routine for politicians (or was, before Corona), but kissing a strange child out of the blue? That is just weird. And, as others have asked, what is 3-year old doing alone in a game center? This could have ended with something much worse than a kiss.
kaimycahl
The child was visiting the shopping center with her grandmother but was alone when the incident occurred. Was the grandmother demented or simply one to say I forgot I left my kid in the car when the temperature was scorching hot!!! What is the difference? I am not blaming the grandmother no am I protecting the suspect but where is the common sense. Leaving a 3 year old alone for any amount of time is asking for trouble!
kurisupisu
A stranger kissing a 3 year old girl on the mouth?
In Japan?
No way this is acceptable.
Japanese especially denote kissing with sexual activity-this guy is a pervert!
starpunk
REVOLTING and disgusting. This creep is a sicko. 56 years old, kissing a 3 year old. Yeeeccchhh!!!!
Yes he is and that's that a 'romance' thing, something a 3 year old is much too young to understand or even comprehend. She's too innocent and this guy is a pervert. Then he 'doesn't remember' because he knows he's in the wrong. Man, I feel SICK - this stuff makes me wanna throw up.
Zaphod
Another aspect of this is: How verbal are 3 year olds actually? Language is still pretty limited at that age. The incident might have been worse or more harmless than assumed... but being condemned off on the words of a 3-year old..... I dont know if that is something we should wish for.
What is sure is that the kid had no business being there alone.
wowyz
" suspicion of sexual molesting a three-year-old girl after he allegedly kissed her while she was playing a video game"
Have the poor girl tested for COVID19, no telling what germs the nutcrack miscreant was carrying.
snowymountainhell
A relevant counterpoint was made @Zaphod 1:44am by @toolonggone 3:01 am:
and her mother called police. *Wada emerged as a suspect* after police reviewed surveillance camera footage at the scene.]
@toolonggone 3:01 am: “Thankfully they were not relying solely on the word of a three-year old.”
Concerned Citizen
Never leave young children alone anywhere much less a busy public space filled with strangers.
Poor girl. I hope she didn't catch anything from him.
StevieJ
Let's all be realistic here folks. You can never monitor a child 24/7 and for all we know ba-chan might have just went into the other isle for a sec to grab something and this creeper made his move.
That and there are a ton of unsupervised children in most stores game centers in Japan.
Pacific Saury
That IS good news!
purple_depressed_bacon
Parents, caregivers and guardians take the notion that Japan is totally safe and use it as an excuse to become complacent. Who in their right minds would leave a 3 year old alone in public?? As for the man, castrate him and throw him into the darkest hole you can find. As for the Japanese government, I have three words for you: Sex. Offenders. Registry.
MilesTeg
Hence why I never left my child unattended at the park or at game centres especially ones inside department stores. Some of them even combine adult gambling games with children's games in the same area. Once in a while you'd see these 'weird' types hanging around staring at the kids.
therougou
The grandmother obviously wasn't very reliable, was she?
It could also be that she did tell the grandmother, who then tried to cover it up to avoid getting in trouble for not watching the kid!
Mocheake
Predators lurk EVERYWHERE so keep a sharp eye out, especially on the little ones. If he's found guilty, throw the book at this piece of garbage.
Garthgoyle
You either did the crime or did not. “I don't remember" equals "I'm guilty."
MilesTeg
Prior to 2014, it was legal in Japan to possess videos, photos, and imagery depicting sex with children provided there was no intent to sell or post them on the internet.
The 2014 law however still permits manga to contain child sex images. ]
It's not surprising that these pedophiles act brazenly in these centres and other locations.
snowymountainhell
Not necessarily “*A Japanese who refuses to acknowledge …” @MilesTeg 4:47pm*. - There is *a certain ‘element’, sometimes present, from ‘outside’ JAPAN, in these types of threads, late-night, early ***a.m., that seem to periodically try to justify adult-child interactions. Even (sickeningly) trying to convey that some children may have some ability to seduce some adults. You please continue “pointing out the truth”, as painful as it may be for some misguided ‘nationalists’ to confront. This insidiousness is still prevalent IN JAPAN despite any ‘paper laws’ the enact to pass the scrutiny of the other G7, the U.N., Amnesty International, etc.
MilesTeg
You have a point about these from 'outside Japan'. Maybe Japan Today should allow us to see who is giving + & -.
Some manga writers/artists and their publishers love citing censorship and freedom of expression/creativity as to why they should be able to continue to include child sex.
Max
Japan, for the most part, is save for kids. This is why the girl was left alone. But sick people are everywhere. And Japan is no exception. Thank God for the surveillance cameras, which are every where in Japan.