On May 16, Kotaro Himeki, of no known occupation, allegedly demanded money from a university student after he took tosatsu (voyeur) footage up the skirt of a woman on an escalator at JR Ikebukuro Station in Toshima Ward.
“You know what you did, don’t you? Your parents will be in trouble too. Show me your bank account,” the suspect told the victim in extorting 100,000 yen from him.
Upon his arrest on suspicion of blackmail, Himeki denied the allegations. He told the Shibuya Police Station, “I have no recollection of doing so.”
“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.
The arrest is the second for Himeki. On January 27, police accused him of violating the Law Banning the Taking of Sexually Explicit Photographs. Last June, he secretly filming a woman at a shopping center in Shibuya Ward. An analysis of his smartphone revealed a video of him threatening the male university student.
Based on smartphone records and other information, police are investigating the possibility that the suspect may have used the same method to extort more than 20 million yen from other victims.
