Aichi prefectural police said Tuesday they have arrested three men under the Child Welfare Law and sent their case to prosecutors, with each of them accused of engaging in indecent behavior with a minor.
Police allege that Takahiro Sumi, 34, became acquainted with two junior high school girls via an online bulletin board for runaway children. The girls, both 13 at the time, had written comments on the board since November last year asking if anyone could provide them with accommodation. Sumi made an offer to the girls to stay at his apartment in Nagoya City, and the girls met him on March 23. They stayed at his apartment until March 30, during which time he is accused of having sex with both of them.
Police said Sumi wrote a message on another bulletin board toward the end of that week, saying that he could no longer afford to accommodate the girls and asked if anyone could provide accommodation for them.
Shuji Okuno, 30, replied to the message and met the girls at Nagoya station on March 30. They both stayed at his place, also in Nagoya City, until April 21 when one of the girls left. This was after Okuno had posted a message online asking if someone could take one of the girls. Yuzo Fujieda, 29, is believed to have met the girl in Nagoya City on April 21 and is accused of engaging in indecent behavior with her the next day.
Both Sumi and Okuno have admitted to engaging in indecent behavior with a minor, and told police that they expected sex in return for providing free accommodation. Fujieda has denied the allegation and told police that he never met the girl.
The three men never met each other, police said.
© News reports
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timorborder
Read this in the Japanese press yesterday and was left speechless.
These guys need to get their day in court asap, and they need to go down for a long time if found guilty as charged. At the same time, the "girls" in this story need to also go in front of a court, if only to be scared straight. A bit of juve also sounds in order.
Maria
juvenile detention, because they ran away and were basically raped?? They're 13 - do you recommend locking every immature idiot away when they mess up? In that case dustballs will be bouncing through JT soon.
chotto
Why the hell wouldn't they do the decent thing in the first place and turn the girls in to police?, who I assume are only Elementary school / JHS first graders? Sick, perverted individuals. Castration and a long, long time locked up in prison.
smithinjapan
Uh-no! And yet another week in Japan with at least 2 cases of pedophilia or statutory rape, and it's only Wednesday.
I am, in part, poking fun, of course, but I am also quite serious about what seems to be a problem not dealt with very well in this nation. Had these girls not been runaways and were simply engaged in 'enjou-kosai' the story wouldn't be quite as sensational, and the men would probably be considered less villainous (in certain circles).
There is no excuse for the acts of these men, and while I feel sorry the girls being taken advantage of, they were also a little stupid to agree to stay with the strange men.
thundercat
This should be constantly monitored by the police. Seems like a great way for pedophiles to get in contact with really vulnerable children.
There's no way to know what these girls were running away from. Their home lives may have been much worse than what these guys were offering. It's easy to judge the young girls without knowing their situations. What is certain is that they were vulnerable and needed protection and help. What they got instead was a bunch of sexo pedophiles.
Molenir
Elsewhere, these pedophile rapists would get 5 to 10 years, here...? Unfortunately, what will probably happen, is that these people will likely receive a suspended sentence, if they get anything at all. To be honest, I don't expect them to have more then a fine and a slap on the wrist.
dr_jones
Nothing's for free in this world!
Jkanda
'The two men had some sort of urge coming from within them and the two girls just wanted to have some fun for a few months and then return back to their real life'. This is what I have learned from the posters here.
FryingMonkey
Unfortunately this is how the world works, the young and weak are preyed upon. But these D-Holes need a stiff sentence and a large cell mate for at least 20 years. Hope the girls bounce back, get a kick in the a$$ and get their shite straight! Glad they're safe.
tkoind2
As long as Japanese society accepts the sexualization of young girls in manga, movies, tv, magazines etc... then they can expect these guys to do this kind of thing and for young girls to be complicit in it.
Society sets what is right and wrong. If everything says sexualized images of very young girls is ok, then nut jobs are going to take advantage of it.
Japan must change this practice and send a strong social message that young girls are off limits and that there are legal, social and moral consequences for violating this understanding.
TheguyNextdoor
all 3 need to be locked up. girls need some help.......get them back on their feet and back into school. some role models would be nice, since their parents really didn't seem to care much! If guys like these can find these girls on these so call "online bulletin board for runaway children", where were their parents?!
Jkanda
The young girls also should also get a 'strong social message' about this kind of runaway behaviour. Is it the love for LV bags and the shortest possible way to get it, gets them into this kind of behavior?
loserville
This is all too true. Last night I was watching TV and there was this show where they showed a 14 year old girl in a bikini posing in a very very sexual manner. And included her "size". Honestly what is this supposed to accomplish.
It disgusts me how sexualized young people are in this culture. And it doesn't surprise me when this sort of thing happens. Pedophiliacs are given the message from media that this type of behavior is OK. Maybe if we stop putting these images on TV, Magazines, and Manga, we can really start to chastise these perverts for doing so
MadamK82
Did the parents report the children missing? Cause they were missing for about a month, and had been on the runaway bulletin since Nov. Did the parents even monitor what the girls were doing online?
Not pointing the finger at the parents as it was the 3 guys who committed the crime, but still...
Mittsu
The myth of women in Japan giving up sex for fashion items is a persistent one - is it really true? Similarly, this story would indicate that girls in Japan are not particularly hung up on giving sexual favours for things that they want.
timeon
Mittsu, it's called "papa" and is fairly common.
dishdash
I agree with a lot of the postings here concerning the girls, whilst the men definitely need some type of sentence as they should know better, the girls in Japan need to grow up and realise that there body is part of their soul - yes probably a little too deep but all these news clips give the impression that that they treat the two separately - if I have ever have girls they will definitely not be educated in Japan. SIGH
TokyoGas
I am speechless...
nath
Japan is famous for it's papa-cases... worldwide...
Ianinnihon
Lucky they weren't murdered...
WilliB
The JT lynch mob is out in force again.
Clearly these guys let their small head do the thinking for them and should be punished, but "pedophile rapist"?? Where? The initiative came from the girls, and 13-year old girls are hardly little children.
I have seen similar messages on Japanese "deai" bulletin boards. Typically, the boards have an age limit, they don´t allow postings when you enter an age less than 18. So they enter 18 in the header and then give some other info in the message body (hontoni jiu-san desu etc).
Very wrong, but alas not uncommon. So can all you lay judges go easy on the lynch-mob mentality? Hard, I know...
kirakira25
@tkoind2 - the most intelligent message I have read on here in a long time.
You are absolutely spot-on. I honestly don't think half the men we read about on here committing these crimes are actually - in Japanese eyes - perverted or paedophiles. I actually think they genuinely believe what they are doing is OK - it is OK for them to expect a 13 year old to give them sex in return for accommodation, because society pretty much tells them it is.
It sounds as if they even gave the police that reason - as if there is nothing wrong with it.
WilliB
Mittsu:
Of course it is. And women everywhere in the world have been doing exactly that in some form since the beginning of time and will continue to do so. It is human nature. You have something I want, I have something you want, guess what happens. Do you really think that e.g. Jackie Kennedy fell deeply in love with fat old Aristotle Onassis? The price may differ where you come from, but the deal is the same. And not only in the human world, either. Check out how penguin females swap sex for a cool rock from single males, while hubby is out catching fish. Nothing particular about Japan at all here. Get real!
Jkanda
Yes, this is all very normal here. And occasionally you can meet males doing the same things too. Like barter exchange.
Wakarimasen
So women in Europe also trade sex for luxury goods? Or just for money?
bamboohat
These girls got passed between three different dudes, and it doesn't say anything about the girl who left "escaping" or anything like that. this went on for a month. I hardly doubt the girls were held against their will. Since they were only arrested under the child welfare, law and are charged with "indecent acts with a minor" I doubt they will get any jail time. these girls, despite their age, are a lot less innocent than you guys would like to think. I do believe they knew what was up.
kirakira25
WilliB: I agree with what you say except to point out the fact that, unlike as in this case, neither Jackie Kennedy nor I suspect the penguins were barely adolescent.
I totally get that 13 year olds think they know what they are doing, I was the same at 13, but that is why child protection laws exist - to protect children as much from themselves as from others.
It seems to me that there is a combination going on here of young girls who have little self-respect for themselves and their bodies, and grown men who think it is OK to take advantage of that. If these girls are growing up in this way, what kind of adults will they become? What kind of parents? How will they influence a future generation? Who neglected their responsibility to teach their daughters self-respect and responsibility in the first place?
I don't think for a second these 13 year olds were innocent, and that saddens me as much as the men who took advantage of them. I have been wondering what they were running away from.
BeaverCleaver
The people most upset by this seem to not be directly or even indirectly related at all. That is more than a little strange. When did everyone get to be so judgemental?
What bothers me most is that the girls were not getting a fair deal. In my view, a sexual relationship plus room and board is a contract that should be good for at least a year. You don't take on two if you cannot afford it. If I support cracking down hard on the guys its for not having any respect toward these vulnerable females and passing them around like used goods. I think the courts will agree with me on that. They seem to be very lenient only when some sincerity is shown to the younger party. No Jerry Lee Lewis's here, so throw the book at them. I think the court will too.
What I don't think is that when these girls turn 20 they will be grateful for the legal intervention. I will bet they will be snapping at us then just as they probably are now. I think we have saved them from a fate but offered no alternative they will accept. Near future soap-land employees if you ask me, and its because society does not care as much they like to pretend. I would not be surprised if we hear its some social worker taking advantage of them next.
Disillusioned
Of course they did! I guess these girls just learned the hard way, there is no such thing as a free lunch.
smithinjapan
WilliB: I agree this is not at all a case of pedophilia, but it's certainly statutory rape by any definition of the term. Doesn't matter who initiated it.
BeaverCleaver
smithinjapan- "but it's certainly statutory rape by any definition of the term."
Not by the federal definition. 13 is legal at that level.
smithinjapan
BeaverCleaver: "Not by the federal definition. 13 is legal at that level."
It's often that 13 is the legal age for sex with someone of the same age or a little higher. Now, how about with a 34 year old? Can you give us the stats on that, too?
nath
Dang Smithinjapan - BeaverCleaver just gave you an answer and now you just picking - What is "A little higher"? And why is "your definition" more valid than anyone elses definition of, "A little higher"?
Why is "A little higher" OK where a 34 yr old is not OK? sex in exchange for compensations is still prostitution, regardless of age, no? Or is it OK for a 15yr old to pay the 13yr old for sex - cuz 15 is "a little higher" than 13?
smithinjapan
fusedentropy: Don't be dense. I never said any form of 'compensated dating' was okay; what I asked is if it's considered statutory rape if a 34 year old takes advantage of a 13 year old as opposed to someone slightly older (as in within a few years). What's more, Beaver is not entirely correct, and there's more to the lunacy that is Japanese law and how fluid it is on a case by case basis. Let me explain.
According to Japanese law, for the purposes of law, under I article 1., ANYONE under 18 is legally defined as a child. And according the same laws, under II (Rape), IV Child prostitution, what happened to these girls was indeed just that -- child prostitution. Add to this that many prefectures choose to override the national definition of age of consent (at 13) to be the age at which one no longer falls under the child prostitution age of 18, these men were engaged in child prostitution at best. I think the law says no less than 3 years, though they should get far more.
So, if you like, call it 'nit-picking' all you like. I was asking about and pointing out laws.
smithinjapan
Didn't come out well, "what I asked is if it's considered statutory rape if a 34 year old takes advantage of a 13 year old as opposed to someone slightly older THAN THE 'VICTIM'".
And let me also state that I don't think the girls were entirely innocent of anything here, and led them on, but there's no excuse for the men's actions.
scubajim
Ewww, 13 year old girls? yech.
Molenir
Having sex with a minor child, and yes, to me a 13 year old girl falls into this catagory, is nothing less then pedophilia. Sure its not a 4 year old, but nevertheless, the girls are children. As such, they cannot consent to having sex. So the guys are as I said before, pedophile rapists. Even if the crime is merely statutory rape. Even if the girls, who can't legally consent, consented. Its still rape. And these guys should have known better. I honestly can't believe anyone here is trying to justify their actions.
nath
MOlenir - WHy are you an authority now? You say, "To me....". As if you're the only one on earth who makes rules?
We're talking about Japan and what Japanese law states, not what you think or "in my country...blah blah blah". This is Japan and Japanese Law. And no it is not valid to say, "in my country the law is...., so in Japan the law should be changed."
WHy should the law be change? WHat is wrong with it? Based on Japanese Law, what's the problem here?
And I don't care about opions of, "well it's wrong" or "japan law lacks"... OK fine if it does, WHY?
Context guys....
Jkanda
fusedentropy, beavercleaver I totally must agree with you. This is Japan and Japan is having a serious psycho-social issue on childporn.
So posters are not capable of doing anything about it. And your posts on this issue and other news item point clearly that you are unable to distinguish what is acceptable and what is not. 13 year old is a child and a 34 year old is an adult in any part of the world. Rape is a rape and is not acceptable in any country and culture. There are countries in Africa and other developing nations where the laws regarding rape etc are not clearly spelt. Yet, the society has some sort of protection and prevention measures to avoid this crime to a great extent. Japan is an isolated island and so what happens here is nobody's business is a worng noting that you seem to have.
Molenir
Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't realize I was being so offensive. Merely because I'm echoing what pretty much everyone in the civilized world would say, I guess that offended you. Though since again, pretty much EVERYONE in the entire civilized world would say the same thing, I don't think I'm the only one who is making these rules. Think what you like though. If you want to have the right to rape underage girls, and call it something else, well forgive me if I continue to disagree.
Jkanda
GW
People there are clearly some posters on this thread you need to make sure you keep yr daughters away from as they cant tell right from wrong, scary
jonnyboy
when you have a stiff, largely age-defined social hierarchy with those at the top (the oldest) having absolute power over those at the bottom (the youngest) this sort of thing is inevitable. elevate some women and younger people into positions of authority and there might be a chance of changing things. as for now the only people with power to change things are exactly those with the least reason to do so (ie. dirty old men)
BAYANI98
...a 13 year old is a child... in any part of the world.
Are you SERIOUS? Countless innumerable ethnic tribes all around the world marry off their youth at around this age . Google it if you don't believe me.
Merely because I'm echoing what pretty much everyone in the civilized world would say, I guess that offended you. Though since again, pretty much EVERYONE in the entire civilized world would say the same thing,
The mere fact that there are people , and quite a number of them , disagreeing with you disproves this hyperbole.
Japan is an isolated island and so what happens here is nobody's business is a wrong noting that you seem to have
Again, I'll say, that if the Japanese THEMSELVES by-and-large have no problem with something that involves ONLY them and NO foreigners , why should any foreigner have the right to criticize and condemn them for it?! By analogy, that's like having Arabs coming to America and lambasting Americans for allowing women to have the same rights as men .
I honestly can't believe anyone here is trying to justify their actions.*There are MORE things in Heaven and Earth than exist in YOUR philosophy. Maybe if you actually tried to see things from the Nihonjins' own point of view instead of forcing your Gaijin morality on the natives, you'd possibly be able to relate.
when you have a stiff, largely age-defined social hierarchy with those at the top (the oldest) having absolute power over those at the bottom (the youngest) this sort of thing is inevitable. elevate some women and younger people into positions of authority and there might be a chance of changing things. as for now the only people with power to change things are exactly those with the least reason to do so (ie. dirty old men)
Now this is simply delusional . Do you actually think that it's "dirty old men" who are forcing the younger girls , as well as the older women , of Japan , to do such things of this sexual nature? Of course not! They're doing it purely OF THEIR OWN VOLITION and FREE WILL . Who do you think invented the practice of Compensated Dating in the first place? It wasn't men! If more women and youth got into "positions of power" like you imagine , the EXACT OPPOSITE of what you think will happen will occur. Seriously , this statement betrays both ignorance of both human nature and japanese culture.
Jkanda
bayani you have made a good effort to say something. But what is your stance on the incident with the 13 year olds and the 34 year old adults?
You do sense that there is something not very right here by saying that 'the Japanese THEMSELVES by-and-large have no problem with something that involves ONLY them` . Good.
To be honest, I cannot understand what you are trying to say here.
Jkanda
You are right about the girls. Many posters have noted that above. It is a little too obvious here that they do not seem too innocent. That is one thing. But that does not mean that those men should have taken advantage of that. I think that in another country and another city and in another society it will not be easy for a young girl to deceive an older man to get free accomodation. The man would definitely know that she has a serious motive behind this and ofcourse the penalty for an offense like this can doom his career and his life. So very rarely a man would entertain a guest like that.
This kind of thing could have happened in any country and any city. Why do people in Jland take it serious that information on the online bulletin boards could easily be faked. Just like you noted, the girls are far from innocent. So the society should not give room for such things to take place. Anyone should be able to point out to such girls that they cannot get too far with their tricks. If only those men were smart enough they would not be in the predicament they are in now.
nath
MOlenir - Civilized world? HAHAHa Your "Civilized" world has a 50% divorce rate. History has shown just how the "Civilized" world is constantly wrong.... Christans killing muslims. White men converting "heathen" africans. "Civilized" world my rear end....
Molenir
Interesting attempt to change the subject. Pathetic of course, but interesting. So, back to the issue of 13 year old girls being preyed upon by 34 year old men. And how in just about any other jurisdiction, that would be rape...
nath
Yeah, given that you're the one who brought up the topic of "Civilized World" and to answer your question - given that you seem to do selective reading, why not take a moment to read BAYANI98's reply to your comment earlier.
jefinner
The key word here is MARRY. They enter a contract with their husband who provides them food and shelter. They are not used and thrown out like garbage.
polarmalik
Why did the 13-year-old runaway girls want to runaway - where are the parents and why did they create a situation where these girls decided to runaway from home...this is a serious matter and the authorities should find the cause and reason behind all this. The parents should be reprimanded and the schools should keep a check on students. In this case the men are guilty of taking undue advantage of the situation and should be punished accordingly.
helloklitty
The Prophet Mohammed of Islam married a nine-year-old.
RandomTask
Which says more about changing times than anything else...
Maybe it isn't rape, the girls might not have been forced into it, but it should be considered a major crime. I think a lot of people are getting stuck on terminology.
Lamborghini
1) Did the girls agree to sex? if so then it is not rape!
2) Mother nature said old enough to bleed old enough to bred
3) If you look on the interpol site it says the legal age of sex in Japan is 13 years old set by the FEDERAL GOVERNMENT of Japan. Prefectures set it at 18 years old. So under Japanese Law going by the INTERPOL web site the legal age is 13 years old, so these 3 men under Japanese Federal Law did not do anything WRONG, but under Prefecture law did do something wrong.
The 13 years olds should also be getting in trouble for this. I know if I had a 13 year old daughter and she did this she be grounded until she was 40!