TOKYO (TR) – Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested a man for allegedly attempting to extort 1 million yen from a man he caught taking illicit photos, though the suspect himself has also been busted for the exact same crime, reports Nippon News Network (June 24).
In May of last year, Hiroaki Nomura confronted a man in his 50s who was taking tosatsu (voyeur) footage of woman at Senso-ji Temple in Asakusa. Nomura allegedly threatened the man, saying, “You were filming, weren’t you? The money. One million yen,” in a brazen attempt to extort cash.
During police questioning, Nomura partially denied the allegations. “I did catch someone who was secretly filming, but I didn’t demand any money,” he told investigators.
“Tosatsu Hunters”
Law enforcement calls perpetrators of this practice “Tosatsu Hunters,” a label derived from their penchant for swindling perverts who take illicit photographs of women.
Nomura’s extortion case unraveled after police examined a smartphone confiscated from Nomura during a separate arrest. Nomura had previously been taken into custody for illicitly filming women bathing in Tochigi Prefecture.
Police suspect he was also actively engaging in voyeurism at Senso-ji Temple when he spotted his extortion target.
