TOKYO (TR) – Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested a 39-year-old unemployed man who is suspected of assaulting seven women on a street in Chiyoda Ward last month, reports NHK (Nov. 6).
Just after 9 p.m. on October 17, Hikaru Hamaguchi, 39, is accused of approaching the woman, aged in her 20s, from the front as she made her way home on a street in Kanda Jimbocho. He then slapped her across the left cheek with an open hand before silently walking away, according to investigative sources.
According to investigative sources, Hamaguchi has refused to answer questions on suspicion of assault and is maintaining silence under interrogation.
Tokyo police believe Hamaguchi is responsible for a string of assaults on six additional women in the same area, all occurring within roughly 15 minutes before and after the slapping attack.
The victims, ranging in age from their teens to their 20s, were punched in the abdomen and subjected to flying kicks from behind as Hamaguchi passed them on the street, according to investigative sources. All of the victims were women. All of the attacks were unprovoked.
Tokyo police identified Hamaguchi, a resident of Toshima Ward, as the prime suspect through a review of security camera footage from the surrounding area, investigators said. He has since been taken into custody.
