TOKYO (TR) – Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested three men for taking a runaway girl, aged 11, to hotels in the Kabukicho red-light district of Shinjuku Ward and sexually assaulting her within a 24-hour period earlier this year.
On July 8, police accused Mitsuru Takahashi, a building maintenance company employee from Fujimino City, Saitama Prefecture, on suspicion of sexual intercourse without consent and violation of the Child Prostitution and Pornography Prohibition Law, according to the Tokyo Shimbun (Jul. 11).
At around 3:00 pm on April 10, Takahashi is alleged to have taken the girl, who lives in the Kanto region, to a hotel in Kabukicho while knowing that she was under 13 years old and having sex with her after promising payment of 5,000 yen.
When questioned by police, Takahashi partially denied the charges, saying, “I thought she was a junior high or high school student, but I didn’t ask her age.” He added, “I’ve had sex and dated girls I picked up in Kabukicho many times since over the past year.”
The girl had been sexually assaulted by three men between April 10, the day of the incident, and the following day, police said.
At the time of the arrest, police raised caution among the public since summer vacation for schools was starting. “There are many adults in Kabukicho who lure children with sweet words and plan to sexually exploit them,” police said in a statement.
“You’re the cutest in Shinjuku”
The Kabukicho area attracts delinquents and young sex workers. Referred to as “Toyoko Kids,” a reference to the Toho Cinemas complex in the heart of Kabukicho, many of them are runaways.
The girl in this case ran away on the afternoon of April 10. Hoping to garner sympathy for her troubles, she spoke to Takahashi. On the street, he then forced her to go to a hotel, saying, “You’re the cutest in Shinjuku. I’ll give you money, so let’s go to a hotel.”
She told him she was an elementary school student, but he demanded, “I’ll give you 5,000 yen if you let me touch you.” He then ended up sexually assaulting her.
When she left the hotel and returned to the Toyoko gathering area. Another man, 21, then invited her back to a hotel. “I have a place for you to stay,” he said before raping her.
The next morning, April 11, she was sexually assaulted by a third man, aged in his 30s. After her mother reported her as having run away, a police officer found her walking with the third man.
The law prohibits sexual intercourse with a child under the age of 13, regardless of whether consent is obtained, and is punishable by imprisonment of five years or more.
