Tokyo ward office employee arrested for groping on train

“I was so drunk that my hand could have touched another passenger without my being aware of it, but it certainly was not my intention to do so.”

I'm Getting really sick and tired of the "I was drunk" BS!

Why does the headline state "Tokyo Ward Office Employee?"

Surely he didn't grope her in one of his official duties!

He's just a 50 year old drunk who groped a woman on a train.

What's it got to do with the Tokyo Ward Office?

No matter what his life is done and he can kiss his pension and benefits goodbye as a civil servant unless he has some sort of power we don't know about.

Maybe his hands were also VERY drunk and decided to explore the supple flesh of that young woman on the train without his brain being aware of it!! He is an upstanding member of the 'Ward office" and we all know that people from such esteemed positions would NEVER commit such acts reserved for lowlifes and commoners like the rest of us. He dare they accuse this "poor innocent" ward office employee...

Alleged and being seen do not really work together, and we know he is considered guilty here in Japan before he is even in front of a judge. I love Japan, but I love the American system of innocent until proven guilty by unreasonable doubt by a group of your peers in a court of law. This string will fill up with couch lawyers, juries and judges by the end of the day.

I love the American system of innocent until proven guilty by unreasonable doubt by a group of your peers in a court of law.

Not only in America you may be surprised to know.

Good on the guy for detaining him. Should be easy enough to get a conviction.

This is why we have women-only cars. No drunken perverts allowed.

" I love the American system of innocent until proven guilty by unreasonable doubt by a group of your peers "

Only if you are white. Ask a black/Hispanic what they think

While i certainly don't condone his actions, doing something you're not aware of while drunk is a real possibility.

Alleged and being seen do not really work together, and we know he is considered guilty here in Japan before he is even in front of a judge. I love Japan, but I love the American system of innocent until proven guilty by unreasonable doubt by a group of your peers in a court of law. This string will fill up with couch lawyers, juries and judges by the end of the day.

If people are sentenced because someone claims to see them doing it, we won't need courts. It's alleged until the court convicts him.

I have just read the Japanese version on Sankei News site. Yes, the suspect was apparently sitting down in the seat next to the woman. I mean he was not molesting the woman in a crowded train while standing up. So I think the male pasenger unmistakably witnessed him groping the woman.

He chose to be that drunk -- there is no excuse. Japan won't excuse it anymore when you get into a car accident, they shouldn't with sexual assault. Take the guy's job, give him a little time, and have him pay a massive fine to the victim. After that leave him with an assault charge on his record, make him go to sexual assault and sensitivity awareness lectures and training (for the sensitivity part), and let his neighbours know. That ought to cover it and ensure he thinks twice next time.

3 cheers for the guy who detained him! As for I was drunk and dont remember a thing line Yawn!

The woman should forgive him

Oh he was drunk. According to the article, he was pretty specific with regards to where he touched her, and not merely brushing against her. ''Groping her breasts and thighs?'' Sounds goal oriented and not a mistake if you ask me. Mind you, I've seen plenty of inebriated gaijin do just that to unsuspecting women in bars. Perhaps he was trying to demonstrate what a person should do in a disaster management simulation? But in all seriousness he needs to get a life.

Interesting. So he sat there and watched until the guy was going to get off the train, then decided to stop him. Very interesting indeed.

And as for the woman, I guess she was going to let him go until this guy detained him? Or was she sleeping up to that point and unaware?

“I was so drunk that my hand could have touched another passenger without my being aware of it, but it certainly was not my intention to do so.”

Har! I'm sure it was not his intention to get caught.

a 49-year-old worker of the ward office’s disaster management department

a 49-year-old disaster for the ward office

Why does the headline state "Tokyo Ward Office Employee?"

First, naming and shaming the perpetrator's employer are part of the punishment and the deterrent in Japan. Second, there is a hope, admittedly forlorn, that people in senior positions in major corporations or the government sector will behave in an exemplary manner. This fool let everyone down.

I guess she was going to let him go until this guy detained him?

It must have been an extremely embarrassing and traumatic experience for the young woman. No doubt she just wanted to get off the train and get away from this scum. Instead she found herself in the middle of a big scene in the train and on the platform. Everyone there knew she had been sexually assaulted. When sexual predators are prosecuted, the process is often more punishing for the victims than for the perpetrator. That's not a reason not to prosecute, though. It's a reason to make the system better.

Why does the headline state "Tokyo Ward Office Employee?" Surely he didn't grope her in one of his official duties! He's just a 50 year old drunk who groped a woman on a train. What's it got to do with the Tokyo Ward Office?

For as long as you say you have lived here in Japan you should know the answer.

Second, there is a hope, admittedly forlorn, that people in senior positions in major corporations or the government sector will behave in an exemplary manner. This fool let everyone down.

Doesn't matter the position, but it gets worse as one travels up the ladder.

Heh-heh . . . I was drunk. I don't remember. I didn't mean to.

Why not just flat-out deny it? Seems to be the typical japanese reaction despite overwhelming evidence. Look no further than the comfort women chronicles.

“I was so drunk that my hand could have touched another passenger without my being aware of it, but it certainly was not my intention to do so.”

Ah the old "drunkenness" excuse again