Tokyo man arrested for kidnapping 9-year-old girl he met via online game

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With the updated story, seems likely this girl was never going to be seen again. And I renew my comment, he should spend the rest of his life in prison.

Agree. And her shoes were in the trunk. He did not plan to let her walk. I hope he gets locked away as long as the law allows.

Story has been updated to include that the girl's feet and hands by bound by tape when police found her.

That changes everything. I am incredulous, but also dubious, that this was not included from the start.

That little girl is LUCKY the police arrived when they did.

I think its a bit different. That little girl is lucky she was not killed while the police waited outside for her and him to come out. I know the article wants to make it seem like they figured out exactly where to go after watching some security video and rushed right over two days later, but I don't think that's what happened.

This is one SICK guy.... At 3am in the morning she is in the backseat with her feet and hands bound by adhesive tape. At that time of the morning (3am) this guy was taking her somewhere to kill her and dump the body.... That little girl is LUCKY the police arrived when they did. The parents need to educate that little girl on the evil that exist in this world. GREAT JOB BY THE JAPANESE POLICE....

With the updated story, seems likely this girl was never going to be seen again. And I renew my comment, he should spend the rest of his life in prison.

This is why we must be vigilante as parents, we must not let children play on the internet unsupervised! yes its convenient and it get the children off your back, but this is what happens when your guard is dropped. the little girl is very lucky to be picked up by the police and returned, I just hope this is a wake up call for parents. if the police didn't act quickly this could have been a different new article.

Ut seems to me if you can produce toilet seats that wash, dry, and deodorize your arse, you can easily set up this type of system.

They could, but doing so would be admitting there's a problem.

That seems like some pretty twisted logic there, Vanessa. So you’re saying that every kidnapper will commit murder because they have nothing else to lose. People who prey on children do not deserve a second chance. And these types of crimes are the least likely to be rehabilitated.

The girl, who was playing the game through the smartphone of one of her parents, is believed to have communicated with Otake via the game's voice chat function on when and where to meet.

Here is what Japan will do to deal with this problem; I am very sure that instead of taking a STRICTER stance against child kidnappers with longer jail terms, advocates against child predators/kidnapping, commercials showing how to better protect your kids against child predators/kidnappers, proper monitoring of suspicious people grooming children, counseling and all this, they will make a law forbidding phone games to make use of the microphone on the phone so people can't chat in the games. Mark my words!

Here, we can be thankful in a way that this man was NOT so terrified by his own aberrant behavior that he physically hurt the child.

Yet people are so hot to change that.

Kidnapping a child should be a mandatory life sentence.

That's the road to making being a kidnapping victim a death sentence.

@Kazuaki Shimazaki

Mr. Shimazaki: Be careful. Rationality in these kinds if issues can get you in deep trouble and accusations of...well, use your imagination. This man is mentally ill or, at least, his behavior suggests that his social judgement is seriously skewed. All Human societies have these damaged individuals and few groups have either the ingroup wisdom or altruistic concern which might motivate seriously trying to discover how such personalities come to be and to identify them BEFORE they act out, hurt someone, and bring grief and fear to the collective group as these events do. The advice to WARN children has its own issues by instilling fear in the nascent mind and, perhaps, even setting the seed in some for this sort of behavior. So far as my understanding goes of our current level of Human self-awareness (Human 'psychology'), we haven't a clue why people target children in these ways and 'burning them at the stake' seems the best most of us can do for response. Not what might be hoped for in a 'civilized' social milieu. Sadly, our policy makers seem not much smarter than the perps who commit these behaviors and perhaps, when we look to condemn, we raise our sights higher to those who 'administer' us and ask them why they seem to neglect these unacceptable behaviors when they decide where to allocate resources. Punishment as our only recourse does not reflect well on a society's intellectual breadth and, with all that we Humans so narcissistically claim for ourselves, "Hang the per...!!" seems somewhat inadequate to the issue. Here, we can be thankful in a way that this man was NOT so terrified by his own aberrant behavior that he physically hurt the child. Small gifts in this twisted Human Reality we currently manifest.

Everything about this is absolutely wrong. What's a 9 year doing with a 38 year old stranger? You better believe his intentions ain't good. Put this sicko scummy figure in the slammer and don't ever let him out. Instead of kissing a minor, he might be made to kiss somebody's fist.

I suspect/hope this "Man" has simply a low IQ.... and really hope, that the Girl was unharmed, and was simply left on the backseat to sleep ... when you see Gamers playing... they're in a different World - totally different from Reality..... Though to normal people, this age gap would appear to be horrifying, but when you think about it... Kids tend to be the best Game Players... so if your mentality is akin to theirs... then.....

This doesn't make the situation right, it just tries to put things into a perspective of such a person who may see right and wrong differently without doing any "harmful" wrong within their "books"....

Now that's just my "optimistic" opinion, on this matter... I hope its nothing worse. As to what Crime he's committed, and how to correct that, given Japan's Mental Health record expertise, I am sadly pessimistic that it will be appropriate.

The Girls Parent's should not, also, be left without blame.... What on Earth were they doing letting her just wander around with anyone without letting them know of her whereabouts... I know this is Japan... but.

I question the term, "on the back seat". What?, was she tied up?

What a sicko! Glad the girl wasn’t harmed physically but will probably need years of therapy. All I can say to parents is to be more vigilant in monitoring your kids online activity. Or better yet, don’t give them a phone. I didn’t get my first phone until my 18th birthday. Just those old Nokia phones were only really good for calling and simple texts

Kidnapping a child should be a mandatory life sentence.

@Vanessa Carlisle Today 05:17 pm JST

After all, someone could well win a case some day based on the (true) claim they didn't actually kidnap anyone. Please excuse me for thinking ahead on this a bit.

You are very wise, because according to the prevalent theories and jurisprudence of Japanese law, if the guy hadn't folded immediately and if it cannot be proven he used coercion or deception, he has a chance of fighting this off.

https://1drv.ms/w/s!AuGUXs2iFC0Fov9NBm9r9_3H4QbbSw?e=gdXEZj

@cleo Today 03:55 pm JST

There doesn't need to be. A nine-year-old is not capable of consenting to go off with a stranger.

Do we have to respond to every incident by pretending kids can't think and reducing their autonomy and freedom accordingly? As far as the article says, she wasn't harmed, so you can argue she was actually right in her assessment.

Instead of arguing a legal fiction, maybe you can just argue that the protected interest of the kidnapping law is primarily custodial rights rather than individual freedom. Just understand that this is NOT the prevalent position in Japanese law (check given link).

you don't take her home to stay with you, like a stray kitten.

Hmmm. I seem to remember CLEARLY and EXPLICITLY saying it was not right. Did I? (checking) Yes, I DID. So would you mind not being so RUDE as to talk as if I said otherwise? All I am saying is that this needs a new name because kidnapping does not fit. Two all new crimes of "non-consensual transporting" and "non-consensual boarding" could be created that reflect the lack of consent for these things given by parents or guardians. After all, someone could well win a case some day based on the (true) claim they didn't actually kidnap anyone. Please excuse me for thinking ahead on this a bit.

Using local security camera footage, the police were eventually able to identify Otake's car and tracked him to his residence in Tokyo's Katsushika Ward.

This does not sound right. It sounds like a trope from a bad movie. I think its far more likely they got a partial plate number and resorted to staking out several houses based on that and waited. If they were 100 percent sure his car was the one, then surely they would have acted in some fashion right away rather than wait until she came out of his place.

Its that or they finally found some footage that showed his plate number, assuming they are even being honest about using video footage at all and I have my doubts. This is their go to explanation when they track someone down seemingly with nothing and it seems fishy to me. I have a better one.

mph-1212

This stikes home for me, I have a 9 year old daughter as well. We didnt have all this tech bs when I grew up, and outside of educational apps its all a bunch of brain drain, time wasting garbage.

Safe to assume that all her friends have smartphones. I hope you grab her and explain the dangers to her.

Her parents are 100% to blame for this. She’s 9 for Christ’s sake.

The guy, well, let’s let the boys in prison sort him out...

Even if she ran away on her own, lived on the streets for months and then he gave her food and let her stay with him the police would still deem that "kidnapping"

Which it would be, the girl is only 9 years old. If you come across a child up who's been on the street for months you contact the police at once, you don't take her home to stay with you, like a stray kitten.

There was no mention in the article of confinement, chains, threats or violence.

There doesn't need to be. A nine-year-old is not capable of consenting to go off with a stranger.

For all we know she may have hated her home life

Irrelevant.

Who leaves their home at 3am with a kidnapped little girl in the back seat? She is lucky to be alive.

Even if she ran away on her own, lived on the streets for months and then he gave her food and let her stay with him the police would still deem that "kidnapping", and if he admitted to doing that they would say he admitted to "kidnapping". I am not saying what he did was right or acceptable, but it very well may not have really been kidnapping. There was no mention in the article of confinement, chains, threats or violence.

For all we know she may have hated her home life and for very good reason too. And that could be just as much explanation as anything else. But we will never know. Things will be hidden from us.

It is a sad reality that a tool (the internet/online apps) that could benefit so much in so many ways is ultimately used in such ways, and worse still, that is clearly necessary to monitor children in one's home more than it was before. I have no doubt the parents of this girl will enforce some pretty serious rules now, but it could quite easily have been them realizing they should have with the girl never being found, or if found, as simply a body in the woods. Thinking about how far this went... it's insane.

Mark

I must admit, these security cameras can be very useful when capturing Nerds, kidnappers, attackers, and so on.

I wasn't aware that being a nerd was a crime in Japan, or anywhere else for that matter.

Yet, its merely suspicion of kidnapping - not kidnapping! The infamous rotten law system in Japan.

It's simply a direct translation of 誘拐の疑い. It's the way the language works. How would you like it translated?

The law would surely be rotten if the police went about announcing categorically that everyone they apprehended was definitely guilty without a doubt. Could be you next time.

When today's young parents were growing up the Internet was a different place, and it's easy to think the little ones are safe 'just playing a game in their room'. It's sad to think they need to be chaperoned in their own home, but little kids should no more be given unlimited unsupervised access to the Internet than they should be allowed to roam the inner city streets on a Saturday night.

I'm glad the girl was found safe, and hope Otake gets what's coming to him.

Invalid CSRFx2

TV news just reported that the girl was 10. (not that it makes a difference.)

This is so wrong on so many levels. Yet, its merely suspicion of kidnapping - not kidnapping! The infamous rotten law system in Japan. Bet things will be absolutely different if the offender was a foreigner.

This stikes home for me, I have a 9 year old daughter as well. We didnt have all this tech bs when I grew up, and outside of educational apps its all a bunch of brain drain, time wasting garbage. Hopefully ill never have to hear about something like this happening to one of my kids. The last thing this piece of s*** would have to worry about are the cops.

Creep! People really have to teach children about the internet these days.

Deeply disturbing in many ways ... why were the parents not aware of the communications.

don't know under what reasoning it was deemed "off topic" to opine that the police did a good job. after all, they cop a lot of flak here (no pun intended), so just thought they were worth a mention for having nabbed the geezer pretty rapidly....

Leaving at 3:00am? I imagine he meant to relocate somewhere safer (for him) where he could play other kinds of games. Probably intended to head out to the country side and wanted to avoid being seen as much as possible, so night time.

Is happening more and more with these online communication becoming available to children. I notice when i play fps games a lot of kids are on the voice chats. Many are innocent naive kids that are looking for friends. A lot of predators out there to watch out for.

This is why online games can be scary. This has been happening since the beginning of the internet. Luckily Japan has a lot of cameras. Glad to know she was recovered safely.

""Akihito Otake, 38""

Thank you at least they let us know his name.

I must admit, these security cameras can be very useful when capturing Nerds, kidnappers, attackers, and so on.

Where was he going with a 9 years old girl at 3 am !? the police may have saved her just in time.

I said “No” to two men in a car that pulled up beside me. I was a boy of 6 years old. I almost went, but I knew something was wrong. And in broad daylight.

That’s a long time ago. I sometimes wonder what would have happened.

I find it scary too that a girl, perhaps 4th or 5th grade, was able to give an address an absolute stranger to meet uo with her. Growing up in the 80s, parents, teachers and TV always taught us to say "no" to strangers. Why can't we teach children this more often especially as bad as things have gotten?

These are the worst kind of predatory creeps. Their punishment should be severe and very long. Japan doesn’t have any laws against using the internet to ‘groom’ minors. I think it’s high time they did.

Thankfully the girl seems to by unharmed physically.

Vigilance is key. As a handful have said already. Parents and teachers need to be as aware as possible of what their kids do online and who they communicate with. It’s literally all fun and games until suddenly it isn’t.

For the guy, tagged, labeled, and monitored for a long time. For the girl and others like her, this should be another wake-up call for parents and educators to teach online safety. Know what the kids are doing...

He had her for two days. Poor child.

He was on his way to the woods. The girl is very lucky. No more games until she’s 20.

The girl did not suffer any injuries

BS. Maybe not physical injuries...

I pray for the safety of other girls playing online games that they avoid meeting up with the people they play with. Online games and social media is almost too convenient of a hunting ground for predators and criminals. Thankfully, this ended well with the girl safe and the perp under custody.

A lot of predators out there online, can never be too careful.

This man needs to be locked up for a long long time.

So much so wrong with this.