Chiba prefectural police have arrested a 36-year-old man from Chiyoda-machi, Gunma Prefecture, on suspicion of sexually assaulting a 12-year-old junior high school girl whom he met on social media.
According to police in Abiko, Takashi Fusejima, who is self-employed, is accused of sexually assaulting and injuring the girl on July 5 last year at a hotel in Chiba Prefecture, Sankei Shimbun reported. Police said he has partially denied the allegation by claiming he didn’t know she was younger than 13. The police were notified by the girl's mother.
Police said Fusejima met the girl on a social networking site and they agreed to meet up.
© Japan Today
41 Comments
Asiaman7
I would certainly hope the age of consent in Japan is higher than 13.
sakurasuki
What his intention to meet her anyway?
Gaijinjland
I blame the parents. Children here are taught absolutely no common sense like don’t talk to strangers! I get that Japan is relatively safe but instilling a reasonable sense of fear and apprehension of the world in your children is a good thing.
Bow wife
Erm, pretty sure the blame rests entirely with the perpetrator, just like any crime.
victim blaming = NG
BertieWooster
They met on social media. She was on social media to meet someone like this. She went to a hotel with him. To see his stamp collection? Unencumbered by the facts as I am, I would say that blame lies with both.
caroti
No, do not even go there. The victim of sexual assault is never even partly to blame. Never.
It is a complete and utter falsehood to believe that a woman is ever partly guilty if she gets sexually assaulted. A woman (or a man for that matter) is NEVER responsible for being sexually assaulted or raped. This is an unassailable truth.
It doesn't matter what she is wearing.
It doesn't matter if she is drunk.
It doesn't matter if she went into a hotel room with someone.
Guys, the law is clear on this. It is a fundamental principle that the blame for sexual assault lies solely with the offender. No justification or excuse can shift any responsibility onto the victim.
TokyoLiving
100% agree..
owzer
obviously to have sex with her. You can tell from his comment that he thought she was at least 13.
GuruMick
Idiot kid, shameless predator , stupid parents
Parents....get your kids of smart phones and social media and outside playing sport or having fun...with peers of the same age.
owzer
Legally, you are correct. But if it was your daughter, would you really tell her that it was completely not her fault?
Gene Hennigh
Oh, c'mon. Really? Someone 12 years old is mature enough to be blamed for her own assault? People here must never have had any children. 12. She was 12. Anything this guy did to her was wrong - his fault. Idiot kid? Really? Idiot pervert, yes. But a 12 year old isn't an idiot because she's 12. She is just a kid. I can't believe anyone would blame her. Well, I guess there are more idiots than just this guy.
Japantime
Actually it seems like this only came to light because the parents got suspicious of the girl sneaking off all the time. She must have heard about teenagers making a lot of money from this sort of thing. Unfortunately there are bad people in the world. There is an old African saying “A world raises a baby”
caroti
No, no, and no. Come on, guys. I know it's hard, but you have to educate yourselves and let go of old misogynistic myths.
It's no wonder that most women in Japan (and other nations but especially in Japan) never come forward about being sexually assaulted. They know they won't be believed and will be blamed for it somehow.
No one deserves to be sexually assaulted, regardless of their situation or actions.
The perpetrator chose to assault the victim. The victim did not ask for it, expect it or deserve it no matter where she is or what she did.
mallace
Yes, and at any age, not just 12 years old.
As others have said here, only the perpetrator of sexual assault is to blame.
I can't even get into the heads of these guys who think a girl is partly to blame for being assaulted.
Like, she went somewhere with a guy, so it's somehow her fault he decided to attack her?! WTF?
Fighto!
Bertie Wooster -
A 12-year old CHILD is equally to "blame" for her sexual assault and physical injury at the hands of a 36 year old?
Despicable.
You have certainly revealed yourself with that comment.
bund
So, in your world, if a girl/woman goes to a place to have sex with him, she is partly to blame for getting sexually assaulted?!
That's a messed-up way of thinking.
Consent can be withdrawn at any time, and if it's not given, it's assault, plain and simple.
If a girl says 'no' and the guy rapes her anyway - that is a serious crime, even whether she came to have sex with him or not. What is the problem you have with that?
SendaiGirl
Put this man a way.
Lindsay
he has partially denied the allegation by claiming he didn’t know she was younger than 13
So, that makes it alright then. Lock this creep away!
What was a 12 year old girl doing in a hotel with an older man in the first place? These kinds of creeps are the scourge of the earth and need to be put away until they no longer have sexual urges.
wallace
The blame never lies with the victim.
GuruMick
Idiot kid.
Do 12 year olds play in the traffic ?
Old enough to be left at home alone....maybe old enough, or should be, old enough not to meet adults online and go to a hotel with said adult.
spidersenses
wow
virusrex
Unfortunately one side effect of some media outlets becoming more strict on their moderation to ensure people are not condoning violence (or misleading others with false information) is that the people that like to do precisely that converge in the very few outlets that have no problem allowing that, so the comment section of those places become magnets that attract a large number of people that like to justify sexual violence without being excluded.
When rational and compassionate people understandably go away from these places after seeing commenters blaming the victim (knowing their accounts will be fine to do it the next day again), the space becomes used more and more only by this negative portion of people.
njca4
BertieWoosterToday 07:50 am JST
Remember, 4 months before this perv acted out his fantasy, this girl was an elementary school student.
I really have no idea how you came to the conclusion that she is equally to blame for this.
That 36 year old guy is a child molester / rapist.
Ueno Farm
Interesting observation. We can only speculate.
I think it's multifaceted, including lower intellectual development, social awareness and an understanding of consent.
MilesTeg
Well some blame a woman's clothes, 'I couldn't control myself because of her seductive clothes' so we shouldn't be surprised that some blame a 12yrs old girl for being raped even after the perp said that he didn't know she was under 13yrs old implying that 13yrs is the age of consent....for him. Sick people.
Bow wife
Since when are victims of crimes to blame? Never.
In legal and ethical terms, victims are never to blame for the crimes committed against them. Where did you learn otherwise?
Not for sexual assault, not for murder, robbery, assault, burglary, fraud, kidnapping, human trafficking, arson, stalking, or domestic violence.
The person who chooses to commit a crime is always solely blamed.
GuruMick
Victims of negligence are often termed "contributory plaintiffs " ?
Actions of victims of crimes not so much, if at all.
Stupid behaviour of 12 year olds, do not excuse the offender, but are still stupid behavoiur.
Really...going to a hotel room with a strange man you met online.
Thats stupid.
falseflagsteve
Wallace
Sexual assault and rape are never something that can be condoned but we are must take some kind of responsibility. If I walked up to some black men for example and called them racial slurs etc and I got a slap or kick in what I did have zero consequences for being assaulted. No, people would say I was an idiot, same if I went around late at night flashing a huge wad of notes in a high crime area. I’m sure many would say I deserve to be robbed.
They are bad people out there who will assault, and steal or worse. Precautions are needed by all of us in our daily lives to help prevent being victims.
This young victim is not to blame of course but why is she in those type of apps without her parents knowing and don’t they know what and where she is when out of the house
Whatever, the man is a sexual pervert and needs to be removed from the general population for a long time.
wallace
ffs
Young girls who are victims of sexual assault are not guilty on a single point. If she was on an app and persuaded to go to the hotel she still is a victim. Every adult knows these young people are not mature enough to always make the right decisions. The fault lies entirely with the adult sexual offender.
There can never be any other acceptable excuses.
The age of consent is 18 years.
caroti
Contradictory statement: "This young victim is not to blame," but then you question the victim's actions and the parents' supervision, indirectly implying some responsibility on their part.
Your comment implies that victims should take some blame for being assaulted, which is harmful and just not true. It also suggests that certain actions can justify or provoke crime, which is wrong and isn't a valid comparison. Comparing racial slurs or flashing money to sexual assault trivialises the severity of sexual violence.
Focusing on the victim's behaviour rather than condemning the perpetrator's actions is very misguided, and your tone lacks empathy and understanding towards the victim, who is only a 12-year-old child!
Bob Fosse
The girl in question is 12 years old. Your bizarre hypotheses are completely irrelevant.
falseflagsteve
Strange how many attacks I’m getting from people that don’t read properly or cannot understand that life is lack and white.
Caroti
Never said anyone’s actions make them to blame, you’re making things up and attacking my good character. Cutting down risky situations is something we can all do. The man is to blame of course as I mentioned FFS!
NEVER blamed the victim in any way, ridiculous accusation to make.
For one I never said the girl is guilty of anything except stupidity and being poorly brought up maybe.
We know there are sexual predators bout so women and girls need to take care to avoid situations. In this case a vile app like this should not be able to download for a child. The parents should know what’s going on with her, where she is.
So what people here say is ideal solution is that we don’t take precautions to reduce risks we just say the person who did it is guilty. None of you ask about the parents or guardians responsibility to the child.
Black and white and provides no way of reducing this sort of thing happening to other girls and young women.
Why not let the kids go feral, if anything happens it’s only the criminals fault,.
No wonder this stuff happens with the attitudes we see here, unbelievable.
Lastly, keep an eye on your kids activities. Keep them safe from bad people don’t wash your hands of your responsibilities.
falseflagsteve
Bob Fosse
If she wasn’t on the app she wouldnt have met the man. A 12 year old should not be able to access apps like that.
wallace
There can't be a single excuse for this rape or any other one. Children like this one are too young to be responsible for their actions. But an adult is legally fully responsible for their actions.
The man raped a 12-year-old girl. He is three times her age.
Bow wife
Indeed, let's be clear: sexual assault is the fault of the perpetrator and never the victim, no matter what age the victim is.
Puzzled why some folks (not you, Wallace) struggle with this straightforward concept.
Do we blame the victim for murder, kidnapping, robbery, assault, burglary, fraud, human trafficking, arson, stalking, or domestic violence?!
wallace
Bow wife
I fully agree.
caroti
Except you are without realsising it.
As I said falseflagsteve (perfect name BTW), comments like this:
.... imply that certain actions of the victims somehow justifies or provoke crime, which is wrong and isn't a valid argument since there is never ANY fault or cause or role played by the vitim. Is that clear?
In the case of serious crimes like this we do not question the behaviour of the vitm or what they should or should not do because they have done nothing wrong, it is the victim who holds sole responbilty
Can you see how this is a contradiction?! There is no 'except' - there is part of the victims actions that is to blame for her being sexaully assulted.
Sexual assault of their child is never the fault of the parents either!
Yes, parents should be vigilant about their child's activities, especially online, to help protect them from potential dangers.
However, this doesn't mean the responsibility for any harm that befalls the child shifts from the perpetrator to the parents or the child.
The responsibility for any crime, including sexual assault, lies solely with the perpetrator. Parents should educate their children about safety and monitor their activities, but this does not absolve the criminal of their actions.
falseflagsteve
Caroti
Utter Ian nd blderdash!
NO, the mention of the app was that a kid shouldn't be able to get on an app that makes that possible. I’m blaming the fact that these are too easy to access for minors, why Werner the parents looking at what she’s up to. False accusation against me 100%
If a child is out and about at all times on apps like these, then you’re wrong. Parents have a duty, legally and morally to protect their children.
Parents can be responsible for the child getting in this type of situation by neglecting their parenting duties, it’s as simple as that. Will that always work? Of course not but may have in this case.
Yrral
Why are lots of Japanese men so emotional insecure,that they cannot have any normal relationship with a mature woman
Bob Fosse
What app was it? Go on then.