The suspect was charged with violating a public nuisance ordinance.
According to Shukan Jitsuwa (Jan. 22), demand for such illicit footage remains brisk as gear selection continues to improve.
At approximately 9:30 p.m. that night, the suspect used a camera installed inside a digital clock placed in the locker room of a communal-use bath at a hotel in Shimogyo Ward to film the two second-year girls in the buff.
“An employee found the camera that night,” says an investigator, “and the police were alerted the next day. It was a digital camera whose features, such as the zoom capability, can be operated by remote control.”
A security camera had captured footage of the suspect maneuvering in the shower room.
“During questioning, he admitted to the allegations,” says the investigator.
According to the school’s principal, the group consisted of 280 second-year students. They had been in the middle of a five-day, four-night trip to the former capital that began on December 9.
“(The suspect) joined the school in April of last year,” says a local news reporter. “He was in charge of the mathematics department and some aspects of the rugby team. He was such an enthusiastic teacher that this has been a huge shock to the school.”
According to the reporter, a special meeting was held for the parents and guardians of the students on December 16. Further, the prefectural board of education dispatched guidance counselors to the school for benefit of students.
A Kyoto summary court ordered the teacher to pay a fine of 700,000 yen on January 9. The school dismissed him from his job four days days later
It remains to be seen whether either of these consequences will prove to be much of a future deterrent. A writer specializing in voyeurism tells the magazine that engaging in tosatsu, or the taking of peeping photos, has never been easier.
“These cameras are inconspicuous, fitting in the palm of your hand, and can film up to 12 hours,” says the writer. “They’ve got motion-sensing features that allow recording to begin at the detection of movement. This conserves battery life, and, at 8,000 yen a pop, they’re a bargain.”
The cameras are often secretly installed in rooms in order to capture couples engaged in sexual activities.
“The footage then gets uploaded to the Internet,” says the writer. “This kind of thing is getting really popular.” (A.T.)
Source: “Furo tosatsu ni tsukawa reta okidokei-gata kamera,” Shukan Jitsuwa (Jan. 22, page 203)
