On November 18, Tokyo Metropolitan Police announced the arrest of four male suspects, including writer Kenta Okiyama and chemist Hiroki Suzuki, both of whom are 41 years of age, on charges of trespassing inside a property near Shin Kiba Park in Koto Ward.
According to Shukan Jitsuwa (Dec. 18), the suspects had not theft or similar mischief on their minds but rather the pursuit of a most unusual pastime: photographing young women urinating in public.
At approximately 3:55 p.m. on May 3, the suspects are alleged to have followed a woman, who had been enjoying a barbecue party in the park, into a nearby logistics center.
“With this being during the Golden Week holidays, the park was jammed with people,” says a visitor from that day. “The wait to use the toilet was over 20 minutes.”
Once she squatted down inside the facility to relieve herself, the group of four surrounded her and began filming with their smartphones.
All four suspects have admitted to the allegations, telling police that they are “urine fetishists.”
On that day in Shiba Park, the woman who was photographed by the suspects did not register a complaint with law enforcement. However, after the incident took place the group began behaving “suspiciously” around the park’s lavatories. A visitor then complained to a park official who in turn notified police.
Officers subsequently detained one member of the group and discovered images on his smartphone of a woman urinating. Officers later took other members into custody.
According to the Sankei Shimbun (Dec. 6), this “peeping circle” had traversed multiple prefectures, including Osaka and Miyagi, for up to eight years in search of women itching to use the toilet.
“The suspects aimed at public places during periods when crowds are large, such as first visits to shrines in winter, hanami parties in spring and fireworks shows in summer,” says a local news reporter. Popular places included Yoyogi and Ueno parks in Tokyo.
The group also held screening events in which the members critiqued the footage of the other participants.
“According to the suspects, once a woman starts she can’t stop — and one must seize the moment,” says the aforementioned reporter. (A.T.)
Source: “Josei no yagai honyo o neratta tosatsu-han taiho,” Shukan Jitsuwa (Dec. 18, pages 192-193)
