TOKYO (TR) – A prominent professor at the University of Tokyo’s Graduate School of Medicine has admitted in court to accepting roughly 1.83 million yen in bribes, which included lavish trips to soapland bathhouses and high-end hostess clubs, reports weekly tabloid Friday (Oct. 16).
During his first hearing at the Tokyo District Court on September 25, 63-year-old Shinichi Sato — dubbed by domestic media as the “Begging Professor” — pleaded guilty to receiving illicit entertainment on 28 separate occasions between March 2023 and August 2024.
“Compensation for lectures”
In exchange for the sleazy perks, Sato facilitated the establishment of a “Social Cooperation Program” at the prestigious university to research the efficacy of cannabis-derived ingredients for skin diseases.
The bribes were funded by Koichi Hikichi, 53, the former representative director of the Japan Cosmetic Association, who has already been convicted of bribery in connection to the scandal.
Initially, Sato adamantly denied the allegations, insisting the nights out were merely “compensation for lectures.” However, standing before the judge in a suit, he reversed his stance, stating there was “no mistake” in the indictment.
“Todai brand”
With the trial concluding the same day, prosecutors are seeking a two-year prison term and a confiscation surcharge of 1.83 million yen. Sato’s defense team is pleading for a suspended sentence, with a final verdict scheduled to be handed down on October 22.
A key factor in the upcoming sentencing is whether Sato actively extorted the entertainment. In court, Sato denied coercing the bribes, claiming Hikichi willingly paid because he wanted to exploit the prestigious “Todai brand.”
This defense sparked fury from Hikichi, who was observing from the public gallery.
“I thought, ‘What a liar,'” Hikichi told reporters after the trial. “Sato had the authority to open or close the program. He would fly into a rage and threaten to scrap the project over trivial things, flashing his authority. I was terrified. When he invited me to eat, I couldn’t refuse.”
Pole dancer’s cleavage
According to Hikichi, Sato specifically demanded private rooms at ultra-exclusive restaurants typically reserved for corporate executives. “When it came time to pay, he would just say ‘thank you,’ leaving me no choice but to cover the bill,” he said.
To illustrate the professor’s excess, Hikichi revealed a photograph to reporters taken during a mid-December 2023 year-end trip to a hot spring resort in Atami. The image allegedly shows a greasy, grinning Sato stuffing tips into a pole dancer’s cleavage.
“He was highly satisfied having girls in underwear perform private dances,” Hikichi said. The Atami trip, which cost over 1 million yen for a group of about 15 people, was not even included in the 28 indicted bribery counts. “There are many other instances of entertainment that just weren’t recognized [by investigators],” Hikichi added.
“Medical school culture”
The logistics of the bribery were allegedly handled by Sato’s subordinate, 47-year-old former project associate professor Ayumi Yoshizaki, who has also been convicted in the scheme.
During his own trial in April, Yoshizaki admitted to directly demanding the entertainment from Hikichi, chalking the extortion up to “medical school culture.”
Yoshizaki testified that he was too terrified of Sato’s power to defy him. “If I said something to anger Professor Sato and he disliked me, I would have no place left in the Todai dermatology department,” he said.
