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Innkeeper in Osaka installed spy camera in room to film guests

fire alarm in Moriguchi City
An innkeeper in in Moriguchi City installed a hidden camera inside a ceiling fire alarm to film guests

OSAKA (TR) – A male innkeeper in Moriguchi City has been sent to prosecutors after he was found to have installed a hidden camera inside an apartment used for short-term stays to film guests, reports the Sankei Shimbun (Nov. 6).

According to Osaka Prefectural Police, the man,  a 42-year-old company employee from Tsu City, Mie Prefecture, was found to have installed the camera in a fire alarm mounted in the ceiling of a dressing room by a couple staying in the accommodation in August.

On Monday, the Moriguchi Police Station sent the man to prosecutors for violating the Inns and Hotels Act by renting a residential unit without a license.

In addition to the camera in the ceiling, another spy cam was found hidden in a clock and trained on the bed. The purpose of the installations was for the taking of tosatsu, or voyeur, images.

Upon his arrest, the defendant admitted to managing the unit for the purpose of taking illicit photographs. “My interest is sex-related tosatsu photography,” the defendant was quoted by the Moriguchi Police Station.

The apartment was listed on an internet site that features private residences. Over the past two years, the unit was reserved at least 28 times by guests, including foreigners, at rates between 4,500 yen and 6,500 yen per night.