Man arrested on suspicion of kidnapping 2-year-old girl in Sapporo

I'm glad the girl was well. She could have easily ended up like that Kumamoto girl.

I have a daughter, and if he did that to mine (as a very distraught father) I would knock his his teeth out as "a prank" to see if he finds it funny. Watch a POS.

I am so happy for the parents that their little girl is safe, Well done staff member for being suspicious and calling the old bill.

According to police, Hozumi has admitting leading the girl away, but claims he did so as “a prank.”

Not defending the guy at all, but if he said he did it as a prank, where did the police get "intention of commiting obscene acts" from?

WATCH YOUR TWO YEAR OLD!

How can parents take a 2 year old girl to a video arcade and play games without watching her? This act should also be punished.

Hmmm. Got to say I've been tempted to do something like that when I see parents engrossed in gambling/etc. and ignoring their kid... Only I'd take the kid to the police station to report it as lost.

(And i'd fully expect to be punched in the teeth by the angry/embarrassed father later.)

By "arcade" do they mean Game Centre or Pachinko Parlour?

They were in another part of the arcade playing video games

parenting FAIL

the child's parents are equally to blame for this incident. what knuckleheads would leave their two-year old child unattended? baaaka!

By "arcade" do they mean Game Centre or Pachinko Parlour?

The article mentions video games, so it's probably a game centre.

I am relieved that the girl was OK. I hope the 28 year old learnt his lesson and never try anything like this again.

They were in another part of the arcade playing video games.

In another part? Left a 2 year old unattended? These parents need some serious beating.

I'm confused.

The article reads as if he actually found a lost child and reported her to the staff!

oh, I see, he took her to a different arcade.

Kids! What can you do! Can not look after themselves, so selfish, Mum and Dad were busy.Do they have to look after this kid forever, watch where they are?It's the arcades staff who's job that is and they did it.Thank god. Being a parent is about expecting other people to do your job. Don't they teach this at school? Aaahhh. No they do not talk about it at all.

OK, so he is a creep, but how do take a 2-year old away from the parents without them realising?

To be fair it is easy to lose a 2 year old if you turn your back for a second. I lost mine for 10 minutes in the zoo once - she was with her grandmother, and the grandmother let her go to me but instead she went right past me and out the door cos she couldn`t see me. I was with her brother showing him an animal. Grandmother never bothered to watch her and make sure she got to me safely (I was about 10 metres away).

On the other hand - a video game arcade? Doesn`t sound like these parents had their daughters safety on their minds.

@willib

how do take a 2-year old away from the parents without them realising?

do it when theyre not watching - these two obviously werent.

These parents sound like real idiots! How in the hell can they keep their eyes off their 2 year old little girl when we all know, yes even is so called "safe Japan" their are plenty of hentais, perverts, child molesters etc... These parents better feel real lucky that their daughter did not end up like that one little girl who was killed in a department store I think down in Yamaguchi? Kyushu? I do not remember but we should be very, very careful!

Let's hope the police will take the time to hear his confession of other unsolved child abduction cases.

Japanese society lax about child molestation, abduction, and serial killers. Coming from the USA - we're hypersensitive about this and watch our kids meticulously. They're NEVER out of our sight - even in the toilets. Overboard - but crazy people abound and the laws are impotent. Police (homicide) usually arrive AFTER the kid is molested or dead as they have to wait for a law to be broken before they can take action (reactive management by the way).

So, it's up to the respective parents to be or not to be...responsible and vigilant (or was that vigilante).

I wish people wouldn't immediately jump on the parents. I watch my kids and am pretty paranoid, but I can tell you that some kids can run or hide or whatever in about a three second lapse. Yes, the parents could have been irresponsible and been not watching. Or the child could have gone around a machine and then out of sight in a few seconds. Some kids like to play like that. (yes I know you can do this or that...but I've yet to meet a parent who hasn't experienced losing a child somewhere even if it's only for one minute only to find them in the next aisle or hiding behind something).

The lesson that has to be learned and it's sad but necessary is that there are obviously disgustingly rotten men out there who are just waiting to molest a child, and they no doubt frequent places like that.

So, as I say to my wife, if you can't see the child, assume the worse.

Good on the girl for crying, and good on the shop assistant for following his instincts.

I think people are jumping on the parents for leaving the child alone on purpose, and rightfully so. The article makes it sound like they just didn't care.

And really, bringing a 2 year old kid to a noisy, crowded, and probably smoky arcade is not appropriate. I'm glad that the kid didn't have to suffer this time for the parents' mistakes, but for all we know with parents who leave her alone in arcades she may very well be suffering other times.

I take my kids to arcades a couple of times a month and will not let them out of my sight. I have seen quite a few odd characters ogling my kids. I should probably mention, I don't play the games unless it is with my kids. Sadly, it is a sign of the times that you must be constantly onguard and over-protective of your kids and not just in Japan.

Police (homicide) usually arrive AFTER the kid is molested or dead as they have to wait for a law to be broken before they can take action (reactive management by the way).

Finally!! Someone figured it out...

I love these comments. Every parent on the planet has lost their kid at least once, only takes seconds. It happens. These Japanese arcades are crazy loud as well, sensory overload.

I just noticed this past week a sign at the arcade I bring my kids to that read "No Single men allowed" There are some freaks at these places. Scary to know this guy is probably going to do it again.

@RobertCB

I didnt know they had signs haha. Aren't most arcades filled with single men playing games on a Saturday night alone haha. but all jokes aside that arcade clerk was smart. Glad to hear there is 1 less pedo walking the streets.

kids get lost even if your standing right next to them. They see things differently and at their height the whole world is warped. Unless they look up they can easily mistake someone else in the same jeans for a parent and walk with them and get lost.

Hmm, what happened to teaching your children "don't talk to strangers, don't go with strangers" etc? The parents in this case were not paying attention because it clearly states they were playing games. The parent's are first to be at fault. And 2nd is the perp who abducted the child when he had a chance. If it was a "prank" (rolls eyes) what he should have done was talk to the parents of the child first and say "I'm abducting your kid cos' you're not paying attention..."

Well, its a good thing obscene acts was mentioned right in the article. That saves posters the hassle of jumping to that conclusion for no good reason and being called for it. Instead the police jump to the conclusion.

Of course it would be crazy to think he might have done it for money, or even with the intent of raising her as his own daughter.

And any other Sunday, the police extracted confession would get mega-doubt, but not today. Girl and obscene acts were mentioned together, so that means guilty until proven more guilty.

A very funny prank indeed.

I think it would help to know what kind of games the parents were playing. Were they playing those "medal" games that are just like gambling? Were they playing something that required lots of concentration, like a rhythm or shooting game? Were they using the UFO catcher machines? And was one playing while the other watched, or were they both engrossed? Getting the answer to these questions would help in determining if the parents were really being super-negligent or not.

Also, this is why you get those kid-leashes. Kid can't walk off if they're velcroed to your wrist. I just had another thought ... what if she was in a stroller but got out? I've seen plenty of parents park kid + stroller somewhere while they go do something else. Hmmm ...

These kinda Perverts really spoil the enviroments. I really love children and sometime when i came across small cute children i cant help myself smiling at them but i dont make mistakes talking to them or giving them candy though i want, coz i dont want to put myself in annoying situation.

The parents should be charged with criminal neglect.

There is also the possibility that he just wanted to kill and or butcher her. Yeah, those types exist too. But most seem to go straight for the sex. Telling, isn't it?

Hmm, what happened to teaching your children "don't talk to strangers, don't go with strangers" etc?

She was 2! Pretty much still a baby! She cant learn stranger danger at that age - thats there the parents come in - or not.

miamum, you don't seem to realize that "stranger danger" is a patently false concept and the name of a hysteria.

On top of the terrible news about the earthquake disaster, all we need is to read about such low form of life perverts. This does not get more horrible than this.