Pervert hunter arrested by Tokyo police for less-than-pure intentions

I apprehended a pervert taking video up a girl's skirt on an escalator at a train station a few years ago. He was detained interviewed by the cops for about 20 minutes. I was held for two hours while they checked my residency status, called my workplace, called my Mrs and asked me all kinds of stupid questions. At the end of it, I was told by one of the cops (in English), "Stay out of Japan business." I kind of wish I had thought of this idea.

@Disillusioned

I apprehended a pervert taking video up a girl's skirt on an escalator at a train station a few years ago. He was detained interviewed by the cops for about 20 minutes. I was held for two hours while they checked my residency status, called my workplace, called my Mrs and asked me all kinds of stupid questions. At the end of it, I was told by one of the cops (in English), "Stay out of Japan business." I kind of wish I had thought of this idea.

I would have told him "Why don't you do your job so that I can stay out of Japan's business" The police had lost face to a foreigner and so they attempted to find something wrong with you so as to teach you a lesson. No concern that you had actually helped one of their fellow citizens but bringing shame on another was your only crime in their eyes. I wonder if the same applies when driving passed an accident? Do I render help or do I "Stay out of Japan business."?

Younger girls in Japan tend to wear short skirts which is no excuse for what the guy did but don't dangle bait in front of perverts and you will have less issues. The matter of the police being difficult to the man who apprehended the pervert is wrong. I don't know if the station had a CC camera but if you would tell people that if they break the law we will put you photograph on a police web site. My J-wife had an issue where she and our daughter where bicycling back from the supermarket and a women had a huge dog and it attacked my wife and daughter and knocked them of the bike and then bit my wife. The woman and her boss came to our mansion (always love it when you call a small apartment a mansion) and offered a small payoff and I said no because she has a serious wound. Anyway my point is that Japanese cops have issues but so do cops in other countries. We then went to the local keystone cop koban to report the incident and the cops said it was a private matter. We then went downtown to the central police department and they took it seriously but then the cops wanted my wife to pull down her panties and take photographs since the wound was hip high and were joking. Bunch of dirt bags.

Investigators say Nohara was actually placing the call to an accomplice who was merely pretending to be the woman, and that instead of protecting the virtue of Tokyo’s ladies, he was actually just running a scam to fill his own pockets. Odds are the photographer saw through the phone call ruse and recognized Nohara’s offer for what it was, a blackmail attempt, but he still figured it’d be best to buy his silence., and agreed to pay up.

However, a police officer noticed the exchange taking place, and thought something didn’t seem quite right. After questioning Nohara, the officer placed him under arrest for the attempted shakedown. In addition, investigators say he’s now a suspect in two other instances of what they’ve dubbed “voyeur hunter” extortion cases that have taken place in the neighborhood this spring, in which the targets paid a total of roughly one million yen

I hope they consficate everything Nohara has and lock him up for a long time.

@disillusioned - I remember you relating that disillusioning experience to us before. Hope you haven't had any more such experiences.

For that matter, how did Nohara know the phone number of the woman who’d been the victim?

If this guy can do this, either he can use this trick to falsely accuse innocent passerby as chikan.

@Disillusioned

At the end of it, I was told by one of the cops (in English), "Stay out of Japan business."

Sorry to hear they treated you this way. However, if you come to someone's aid who is hurt and wait with them for the ambulance, you get an official, business card sized note saying in Japanese and English: "Thank you for your first aid treatment. We sincerely appreciate your brave act. Tokyo Fire Department."

disillusioned:

At the end of it, I was told by one of the cops (in English), "Stay out of Japan business." I kind of wish I had thought of this idea.

I hope you told the officer that if you ever saw his daughter or wife being molested or physically attacked and there was nobody else around, you would just walk away and do nothing.

Odds are the photographer saw through the phone call ruse and recognized Nohara’s offer for what it was, a blackmail attempt

"Photographer?" Seems the author sets a very low bar for professional qualifications here.

I ALWAYS advise people here to stay well away of anything that is or could involve police, sadly if you are a foreigner you could well end up as the CENTRE of attention, and you don't want that!

I have witnessed two accidents & stopped to wait for cops,  the first was a fender bender & they just didn't give a damn about any witness, left my phone number with the guys who were hit & their insurance company rang me after the fact so MAYBE I did some good.

Second a car got broadsided & ended up wheels skyward, woman driver had crawled out, cops show up & just ask if she is ok & she says yes & they left here, the woman was clearly really shaken possibly in shock, they didn't care, she could have had broken bones, internal injuries, who knows, anyway she tells my wife she was meeting here boyfriend in a nearby parking lot, we found him & brought him to the scene, which he was watching from his car he was that close... any she didn't receive any help on the scene & her boyfriend & I emptied her car of her stuff PDQ for the tow truck could haul it away & get traffic flowing....SERIOUSLY messed up.

Sorry to hear they treated you this way. However, if you come to someone's aid who is hurt and wait with them for the ambulance, you get an official, business card sized note saying in Japanese and English: "Thank you for your first aid treatment. We sincerely appreciate your brave act. Tokyo Fire Department."

And this is why everybody loves firefighters. They are heroes every time. Sadly, the same cannot be said for the police.

DisillusionedToday 07:07 am JST

I apprehended a pervert taking video up a girl's skirt on an escalator at a train station a few years ago. He was detained interviewed by the cops for about 20 minutes. I was held for two hours while they checked my residency status, called my workplace, called my Mrs and asked me all kinds of stupid questions. At the end of it, I was told by one of the cops (in English), "Stay out of Japan business." I kind of wish I had thought of this idea.

Rule Number One of Travelling, Leave the locals to deal with local issues. - Learnt that after first arriving in Japan.

"Photographer" can mean a professional taker of photos or just a person who took a photo. Depends on how "photographer" is pronounced.

Yes, it can mean just a person who takes photos - so another joke gets voted down by the grim masses. However, first time I have ever heard of pronunciation changing the meaning. Do you have a reference for that?

This type of scam was also tried on trains a few years ago.

@pudus, you may have point : current US cv19 deaths close to 100, 000, unemployment at 36.5 million, wont take too much before the beast is unleashed at every angle.

Odds are the photographer saw through the phone call ruse and recognized Nohara’s offer for what it was, a blackmail attempt, but he still figured it’d be best to buy his silence., and agreed to pay up.

What? Why would he pay if he saw it was a scam? And why does he carry a million in cash on him? Strange story.

Pervert hunter turned gangsta.

Why would he pay if he saw it was a scam? And why does he carry a million in cash on him?

Easy enough to withdraw a million yen from the nearest bank. So far as why he would pay, I am guessing he actually did take the upskirt pictures, and wanted to avoid explaining that to the police if they actually followed through on their threat of calling the police. Not to mention, the guy may have been very persuasive, in a missing pinky kind of way.

Hawkeye, I had something similar with my daughter when I went to the police station to complain about a sexual pervert. Max sympathies.

@commenteer

"so another joke gets voted down by the grim masses."

 Mine, too. Probably by you. Ironic.

Younger girls in Japan tend to wear short skirts...

Yup! I love it!!

The perv photog was allegedly caught in the act, but girls also run scams with "Chikan!" accusations directed towards innocent targets in order to shake them down. People will pay up to avoid the mere accusation of impropriety and enterprising individuals will always be ready to take advantage of that. So much goes on in the shadows every day.

Actually I find the last paragraph fishy too: "However, a police officer noticed the exchange taking place, and thought something didn’t seem quite right. After questioning Nohara, the officer placed him under arrest for the attempted shakedown. In addition, investigators say he’s now a suspect in two other instances of what they’ve dubbed “voyeur hunter” extortion cases that have taken place in the neighborhood this spring, in which the targets paid a total of roughly one million yen, and they’re now searching for Nohara’s accomplice as well."

Sounds like the police were already on a stake-out to catch this guy. Much easier to prosecute for extortion, and it's probably listed in their manual as a more serious crime.

People will pay up to avoid the mere accusation of impropriety and enterprising individuals will always be ready to take advantage of that. So much goes on in the shadows every day.

That's one of the risks of dodgy behavior, whether it's patronizing a sex worker, filing false documents or buying drugs. Often it involves transactions with other people who live on the edge of the law, and those kinds of people are more likely than others to take advantage of someone who might want to keep their activities private. As a friend once said "sleaze can get expensive."

However, a police officer noticed the exchange taking place, and thought something didn’t seem quite right. 

More telepathy from the J-cops-amazing!

Extortion cases that have taken place in the neighborhood this spring.....How does the police know this ???

So the men / victims of this scam paid these “voyeur hunters"and then reported the incidents to the police, Now that would be dumb If you paid why report it to the police, Don't understand that way of thinking. Anyway hope they catch these hunter's and the guys taking the pictures.

@commanteer

"Photographer?" Seems the author sets a very low bar for professional qualifications here.

"Photographer" can mean a professional taker of photos or just a person who took a photo. Depends on how "photographer" is pronounced.

so another joke gets voted down by the grim masses."

 Mine, too. Probably by you. Ironic.

I didn't vote you down. I just asked a question about your statement that pronunciation changes the meaning.

Nice story Disillusioned.

”Stay outta Japan business”

Yes of course thats what happened to you. lol