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Police in Sagamihara, Kanagawa Prefecture, have arrested a man on suspicion of violating the anti-stalking law after he mailed his female target a GPS tracker to find her new home address.
According to police, Atsuyoshi Kono, a company employee, who was arrested on Monday, has admitted to the charge, Kyodo News reported.
Police said Kono and the woman were enrolled in the same study course at a college in Tokyo four years ago. That was reportedly when Kono became infatuated with her, the woman told police.
In 2020, Kono moved to a home near the woman’s residence in Sagamihara. Police said he was snooping around the neighborhood where the woman, now a company employee in her 30s, lived in late January this year, and found her address.
When she relocated in February, Kono used the post office's mail-forwarding service to find her new address by mailing an envelope containing a GPS tracker to her old address on Feb 1.
© Japan Today
49 Comments
virusrex
The stalker used a sure way to find the new address of the victim applying technology, but fortunately was not smart enough to hide his identify while doing it and got himself arrested.
It may be time to think how to stop people from doing this, maybe confirming first with the people relocating if they want to receive packages addressed to their old places or redirecting the envelopes to a post office to be picked up instead of automatically delivering to the new address.
shogun36
What a creep.....
SMH........just learn REGULAR social skills.
Is it really that hard?
Talk to the woman, don't stalk her.
Nuno Teixeira da Cunha
Get a prostitute with the same looks and figure that she is not that good, stop reaching for the individual as a stupid poor man.
NOMINATION
So what kind of sentences are given to these "violations"? I just have a bad feeling it is going to be a slap on the wrist and worse things may be in store for the victim.
Toshihiro
Not gonna lie, that was clever and I'm guessing that other people are also using this technique. I remember learning a tip from a security guy from work that a good and legal way to know if your house or belongings have been bugged is to get yourself an infrared bug detector as GPS devices will emit this. Good on the woman though, no harm happened to her.
painkiller
Police in Sagamihara, Kanagawa Prefecture, have arrested a man on suspicion of violating the anti-stalking law after he mailed his female target a GPS tracker to find her new home address.
It doesn't say whether he went to the new address.
That is what the article says.
This does not make sense.
People relocate, and their mail goes directly to the post office first, before it goes to their new address. Probably in every country.
There is no "re-directing" to a post office.
It's like every post office in the world. Mail goes to the post office first, then is "re-directed" to the final address.
Yrral
If the US cut Japan off from GPS satellite, Japan would come to a screeching halt, Japanese do not own GPS satellite,they own a GPS repeater,that repeat our GPS satellite signal,everytime your train is not late think who control the timing of your train America Google Japan GPS Satellite Repeater
virusrex
And your contribution is?
It is terribly easy to understand this, 12 other people did it without any problem.
That is the point, this could be done to avoid the automatic redirection to the address or even to the closest post office (from which the stalking could be done) Instead redirecting the package to a post office (close to a major train station) where this risk can be reduced.
Before criticizing something you accepted not understanding it is much more productive to ask first, other people obviously did not have that problem and understood the meaning and suggestions.
Yrral
Virus, Japanese got a satellite hovering over Tokyo,10 of thousands miles above that is use as repeater for US satellite,making it more accurate,this keep Tokyo train in time mostly
virusrex
That is not the whole comment, your "pointing out" has no relevance nor importance and only evidence that apparently you think comments have to be made to your liking, which obviously is false.
Do you upvote comments you could not understand?
That argument has already been defeated, the package can be redirected to a convenient or safe post office to be picked up by the person to whom it is sent. The whole point is that is is not automatically delivered to the closest office but redirected to one that represents less risk to betray sensitive information.
Things can be explained to you, but nobody can understand things for you .
Who is rewriting anything and what scenario is impossible? the problem here is that you assumed something without understanding the comment and also think it should be written to your personal liking, both things are obviously invalid.
wallace
This GPS tracker is alarming and could even be dangerous. Ex-husband or ex-boyfriend, violent.
You can put a hold on deliveries or if you move for a period of one year at no additional cost they will redirect mail to a new address. Can be renewed. Only to an address in Japan.
Millions of people are not aware of these trackers.
https://www.realestate-tokyo.com/living-in-tokyo/daily-living/mail-forwarding-japan/#:~:text=Japan%20Post%20will%20redirect%20your,Japan%20Post%20hold%20your%20mail
https://www.post.japanpost.jp/service/tenkyo/index_en.html
GPS trackers are not the only way to find the address of someone.
painkiller
wallaceToday 11:27 am JST
Thank you Wallace; very helpful for people not in Japan.
And a quote from that link:
*When moving, postal items sent to the former address are redirected to the new address *
I see where the mistake is. Thinking the problem is the mail being forwarded to a different post office compared to her last address. See the link above for an easy to understand explanation.
Actually, as clearly written in the article, they guy found her home address; not the closest post office.
In Japan, mail is sent to a centralized post office before being delivered to the person's home address. For some reason you are fixated on delivery/redelivery to a post office, but that was not the issue here, and so your misunderstanding led to an impossible "solution"..
When she relocated in February, Kono used a mail-forwarding service to find her new address by posting an envelope containing a GPS tracker to her old address on Feb 1.
wallace
Redirected mail will first go to the sorting office used for the old address. They will check the address and then redirect the mail to the sorting office dealing with the new address. It takes longer for redirected mail to arrive. There are no centralized systems.
In the article the GPS tracker was sent to the old address, redirected, and sent to the new address. How long do batteries last and what km range of the tracker?
Trackers are always 100% accurate for locations.
The delivery starts from where a letter is actually posted to where it finally arrives. There could be several sorting offices involved.
I am not 100% certain on this point but I think letters have to have a name on them.
wallace
typo
Trackers are not always 100% accurate for locations.
virusrex
That would still be your mistake, as explained in the previous comment the packages are redirected from the first sorting office to the one corresponding to the new address, if the person could arrange for the parcel to be picked up at the post office, but without being able to choose from which office that would still represent some risk for the victim of the stalking.
You seem to have difficulties following the conversation. The whole point of choosing an office depends on the possibility of the envelope to be picked up there instead of automatically delivered. It should be obvious that if the envelope is finally delivered to the address then it would not matter what sorting offices it transited on the way. The first point is to stop the delivery, if that could be done by picking up the envelope in a post office then it would still be much better if it can be not only redirected to the closest to the new address but to a safer one.
It is common for GPS tags to have batteries that last longer than one month, and things like the airtag (that end up having the same functionality without using GPS) can last over a year.
For the purposes of the stalker there is no real need for a precise location, once the general place is known it becomes possible to stalk the victim (by checking train stations, parking lots, etc.)
Yrral
Virus,maybe invest in GPS jammer,they are illegal in the US,it may stop the train too
Harry_Gatto
No they do not emit infrared.
Yrral
Tosh,a frequency counter is a way to detect any kind of electronic tracking device Google Frequency Counter Tracking Device
Yrral
Yrral is all knowing and seeing with GPS Coordinates,it not a spot on earth ,I cannot map with uses graph paper and GPS Coordinates,I made GPS map of the whole world using GPS Coordinates,35.7,139.7 are the important GPS Coordinates in Tokyo
wallace
virusrex
when Japanese residents move they have the PO redirect their mail to their new address and not to some post office.
Reading this article on Bluetooth and GPS, GPS batteries last 3-7 days. When sending a parcel the sender's address is required but sending someone a GPS tracker is not illegal in itself.
https://chipolo.net/en/blogs/difference-between-bluetooth-trackers-and-gps-trackers
wallace
We sent out a bunch of "Summer Postcards" to our friends/clients. Several gave back with name or address unknown.
Yrral
Wallace ,I talking about iphone, Instagram, android, camera pictures contain metadata time date and longitude and latitude in exif file Google Dangers Geotag Pictures Reveal
wallace
Yrral
I have an iPhone but I don't post any photos online, or anything else so how would you be able to track me?
virusrex
I never said it did, I said there is a need for a mechanism to stop this, the example that I give is to redirect to a post office so the person can receive their parcels without them ever reaching their new address. Also that if the recipient can choose which office to use to pick up their mail it would be much better, because in some situations knowing the location of the nearest post office would still mean revealing enough information to the stalker.
To be more clear, redirecting the mail to be picked up to a place different from the new address would solve this risk, specially if the place can be chosen by the recipient.
It is trivially easy to find GPS trackers that last much longer for example
https://www.amazon.com/GPS-Tracker-Optimus-Tracking-Battery/dp/B08M3T8X2V
And as mentioned, even if it is not GPS based the apple airtags can serve the same purpose and their batteries last over a year.
https://www.businessinsider.com/airtag-battery-life
So, it would not matter if the mail is temporarily kept in a distribution office, as long as the envelope with an airtag reaches the new address (inside a year after sending it) the new address will be exposed.
painkiller
wallaceToday 01:46 pm JST
Excellent point--this should be such a fundamental point concerning post offices the world over.
The concept of redirecting mail to a post office only functions if in the end, the mail ends up at a person's home address. Otherwise, it does not make sense.
That is the whole point of the article; not easy for readers to have missed that point.
Anyone who actually has experience living in Japan understands how to redirect the mail from address to their new address.
wallace
virusrex
when you move you could designate a post office for parcels. You can go on vacation and designate a post office for mail and even have your luggage delivered there.
When most people move they just have their mail redirected to their new address. I do not think people would think about GPS trackers.
There is a 7-day limit on parcels kept at a post office if not collected.
How to Receive Your Mail at a Post Office in Japan
https://www.getaroundjapan.jp/archives/2373
“kyoku dome”(局留め, which literally means “stopped at the post office”)
wallace
virusrex
You are making suggestions to solve the problem in the article but Japanese people don't tick like that. We have moved house about six times and each time we just had the mail redirected.
I think they call it putting the cart before the horse.
virusrex
That is completely false, if the recipient can collect something in the post office and consider it suspicious or even confirm the presence of a tracker device it can dispose or reject of it at that moment, without any need for the device ever coming even near the new address, only mail that the person could recognize as safe would be brought home, thus eliminating this way for a stalker to find out the address.
No, the point of the article is that his was used by a criminal to expose the new address of a victim, which means something would be necessary to prevent it from happening.
No, not everybody as a previous comment where summer postcards were returned because they could not be redirected proves.
virusrex
As long as you can't designate the office to keep the mail without ever being delivered to your house that would not solve the problem. Obviously you can decide where to receive something you are sending yourself, but this would have absolutely no usefulness to avoid someone with malicious intent sending you a tracking device to your new address, clearly the stalker would not be designating "kyoku dome" for the mail they are sending. The suggestion (that is not possible at the moment) is that people that change they address could have the option of doing that with anything that is sent to their old address instead of it being automatically delivered to their new one.
That would be irrelevant, if the option was there then people that need it could use it, for example those that have been victims of stalkers and need to be careful of their private information.
No, that would be for this to be the default option for everybody, which is not the suggestion. The suggestion is that if this was possible then it could be used as necessary,
wallace
virusrex
do you live in Japan?
No, what that shows is if the postcards I sent had the incorrect name or address the post office did not deliver them and were returned to me because we are required to always write the sender's address. We contacted those people via email/line to find the right names/addresses. Those people had not moved home.
We can stop the mail for a short period.
We can redirect the mail to a post office during a vacation or trip for a short period. Must be collected within 7 days.
When we change residence we can have the mail redirected to our new address.
We can arrange for a parcel to be delivered to a post office.When we moved house, last time was major furniture and 200 large boxes and two 20-ton trucks, we were mad busy and did not have time to think about GPS trackers in the post. We just redirect our mail to the new address.
The post office will only keep parcels/mail for 7 days.
virusrex
What relevance would this have to the arguments for the need of this mechanism? the crime was committed in Japan, the victim lives in Japan, therefore a way to stop it from happening obviously is needed in Japan.
So your argument is that everybody understand how to redirect mail without needing help? that would contradict the links that explain the process, after all they would be unnecessary.
What does that have anything to do with the situation described in the news article. You keep trying to say you don't need to do this, but that does absolutely nothing to negate the need for those that are put in a vulnerable position. That is like saying since you have never in need to report someone to the police for harrasement you don't see the need to have a way to do it.
Imagine someone you know is in the situation described in the article, as proved by clear references a tracking device can be send to them and be active for a year, exposing the address the moment it is reaches its destination.
If someone else says they have not time to think about GPS, would that solve the problem this person has?
painkiller
Important point from the article to focus on:
used a mail-forwarding service to find her new address by posting an envelope containing a GPS tracker to her old address
wallaceToday 05:33 pm JST
All true and valid points, and easily understandable by anyone living in Japan. And the key point you made concerns the "redirect[ion] of mail to the new address."
NOT to a post office.
It is obviously relevant to your understanding of a basic aspect of life in Japan, and aligns with the conclusion of the article that the GPS tracked the victim to her house, not to a post office or other location nearby.
wallace
virusrex
do you live in Japan?
***Simple question. No offense. But if you lived here you would have experienced the post office, the mail delivery system, and redirections.
***Actually yes because many residents move several times in a lifetime. Mail redirect even before the internet has always been very easy,
***Because the victim moved home too and redirected her mail in a fashion which is common to most of us. You are living outside of our sphere and lacking daily life experience. People are too busy moving and then probably organizing a new home, and going to work to be able to collect their mail from a post office. There are no post offices on every street and sometimes far apart.
***The victim did not expect to have a GPS device sent to her. I do not know if it is a crime to send a GPS. Probably not.
***We do not know from the article what type of GPS device and how long the batteries would last. She could have thrown it in the garbage after it arrived. That is in fact the best advice. If the victim lived in a multi-floor building the tracker would not show which floor she lived on.
***How would she know it was a GPS or who the person who sent it? You could write a fake sender address because no ID is needed.
***I expect you have taken up that role.
***I think recorded deliveries could work too and you can track those online.
***In summary, most of us when we move just redirect our mail to our new address except in the case of "moonlighting". People who disappear during the night to avoid debts.
wallace
That is an odd statement for me because it only says "a mail-forwarding service" not whether it was the post office. I don't know of any other service though.
Letters should not contain anything so it might have been a small parcel.
https://www.post.japanpost.jp/int/service/letter_en.html
virusrex
Again, as previously explained that is the point, that redirecting the email to a post office instead of the new address would solve the problem of the new address being exposed.
Nothing about what is being commented contradicts the suggestion being a much better option, that is the whole point. That the current standard is easily abused in this way. If anybody's understanding was corrected it was yours, that though no redirecting was done when in reality it goes to one office, then redirected to the new one before being delivered.
painkiller
wallaceToday 07:05 pm JST
Exactly.
That is what it boils down to, and might be part of the reason for the misunderstanding.
As mentioned above by other posters, you misunderstand the basic system here.
Your initial option was:
Simply impossible as other posters above also corrected your misunderstanding.
wallace
virusrex
your suggestion about redirecting the mail to a post office would cause major problems. The majority of post offices are quite small and very limited in size. The mail is sorted elsewhere then delivered to the post offices. That would mean a great increase in mail and parcels. Basically, your suggestion is unworkable.
virusrex
Again, irrelevant. If someone ask you if you have been victim of a stalker, what would this prove about what you write? does it make it less true, more correct?
That is a baseless assumption, because nothing you have commented disproves the option being suggested as much better, it would be like someone saying that if you knew what a GPS is you would clearly understand the problem it means for victims of stalking (as in, baselessly assuming you don't know what GPS is).
Again, a baseless assumption, my suggestion improves the safety of the system for those people that can be in danger if their new address is exposed. You assume the normal experience is not understood based only on not being able to accept the suggestion is an improvement, this is not logical.
This is precisely why it is much better just to redirect the mail that was originally directed to an old address, instead of all the mail as you you suggested. If someone could do this the situation described in the article would not happen, but that would not mean the person would have to go frequently to the post office, just when something would have reach their new address without being directed there originally.
So you think that sending active tracking devices not being a crime makes the situation better for the victim? that makes no sense.
virusrex
Which makes your point about this not being a realistic possibility completely wrong, it was very easy to find tracking devices that would make this perfectly possible. a stalker obviously would be motivated to send something that could survive any delay and still report the location at its destination.
By opening the envelope, or more simply, by discarding it as something not important, while in a post office, not in her new address.
The most important point is not that she knows who send the package, but that the package would not reach her new address.
That is an argument you used, not anybody else.
Which obviously should be included in the measures to protect the new address. Again, the situation is about someone finding out a new address by sending something to an old one. If the recorded delivery ends up in a post office the new address is still protected.
And this still have zero relevance for people that are at risk from someone finding out their new address by a redirecting system
Paul
To have one's mail redirected, one has to go to the local Post Office and give them a new address to redirect to. If one just moves to a new address without informing the Post Office first, any mail sent to the old address will be returned to sender as 'no such address'. Therefor what she should have done was not to inform the Post Office of her new address.
virusrex
By offering a better alternative? you have not proved how this would not be better, so the misunderstanding would be on your part. You keep insisting on the delivery being done to the new address, which means you still have not grasped the improved safety of the delivery not being done there.
Do you understand that the problem is that this is not possible but should be? the misunderstanding is thinking I wrote this was possible when it is clearly said this "should" be possible.
Why? do you think most people are running away from stalkers? on the contrary, most people would be much more inconvenienced by having to pick up their deliveries on the post office, so it would be natural to think only those with very serious reasons would do this, and specially since the option would be open (and only used) for mail being redirected that means the incovenience is the exception, not the rule.
You keep making the assumption the change should be forcefully used by everybody (and that is why you keep making an appeal about how you don't need it) but that is false, the point is that if this option was available a tiny minority of people would find it much easier to protect themselves from an obvious way to abuse the mail forwarding.
virusrex
That has the big disadvantage of not being able to receive any mail directed to her old address, which can be a serious problem for some people. it seems like an unnecessary sacrifice to do If she was able to simply pick up this kind of mail at the post office without it ever reaching her house. At this point it may be the best available option, but there is no real reason why this has to be the only way.
painkiller
wallaceToday 07:45 pm JST
Right on. These are basic aspects of Japanese life that are only known by living here.
virusrex
Like mail forwarding actually meaning the mail is redirected?
Again, what basic aspect would make a tiny minority of people using this suggested service a major problem? do you think people living in Japan are all moving because they are victims of a stalker?
Yrral
Virus,GPS battery drained because it trying to stay connected to a satellite,in Tokyo ,the signal is degraded by skycrapers
virusrex
From where do you take the GPS battery drained? this is not written anywhere in the article.
Yrral
Virus,the person that wrote the article , probably do not know about the technical aspects of GPS,they just talking about the device that was found,how the device was mail is really irrelevant,the device was used for criminal purpose,device Google GPS Battery Drain Rate
wallace
virusrex
the article just says a GPS tracker, not the make or quality.
If people want to redirect their mail to a post office it is possible now. The victim did not expect to receive something like a tracker. Maybe it’s the police who need to warn victims but not all victims report it to the police.
Take it to the police or throw it in the garbage.
The post services are being cut back. No more Saturday or Sunday delivery for standard post.
Less daily delivery, down to about 3 times. Some closure of post offices.