"2 men arrested for extorting over Y3 mil from someone they saw taking upskirt video"

From Japan Today, 11/25/16.

According to Tokyo Metropolitan Police, on Nov 8, 22-year-old Masashi Nakamura and 20-year-old Ryoma Fujishima witnessed a white-collar worker in his 30s taking a secret video up the skirt of a high school student in Machida Station. So, like any upstanding citizens, they confronted the man.

However, like slightly-less-than-upstanding citizens they told him they knew what he was up to and requested he pay them off. Caught red-handed, the voyeur complied and handed over 41,000 yen to the two “Voyeur Hunters” as dubbed by the media.

Now with a small chunk of change obtained from the voyeur, they probably all could have gone their separate ways to reflect on their own various crimes. However, the pair of Voyeur Hunters made the classic mistake of getting greedy and said to the vile videographer, “We know the girl you taped and a few tens of thousands of yen isn’t going to make up for what you did.”

So they went to a money lender where the voyeur took out a three million yen loan, bringing the total extorted amount to 3.41 million yen. With such extensive damage to his finances, the voyeur felt he had no choice but to swallow his pride, go to the police, and report Nakamura and Fujishima, who could be easily identified by security camera footage.

Expecting the Voyeur Hunters to stalk the same grounds, police easily found them again prowling through Machida Station and made the arrest on 17 November. During interrogation Fujishima is reported to have confessed while the seemingly more legal-savvy Nakamura denies the charges saying he “did not intend to threaten the man.”

Police are assuming this is not the first time these Voyeur Hunters caught someone. According to their various social network accounts, they both had recently dropped out of their universities with Nakamura pursing a career as a DJ and uploading pictures of himself at a Macau casino. Meanwhile, Fujishima posted photos of himself staying in high-class hotels and attending fancy parties.

The number of reported hidden camera incidents in Japan was 3,265 in 2014 and has been steadily rising. In response there has also been a reported upward trend in Voyeur Hunters as well, some of whom are said to get more efficient results by working with women who will ride up and down escalators wearing short skirts to lure out potential pervs. An investigation is still ongoing to see whether this was the method of these men as well.

While this latest incident isn’t entirely unprecedented, many readers were still surprised by this novel industry.

“Japan is a country of opportunity, where you can make a business out of anything.”
“Someone should start a Voyeur Hunter Hunter business.”
“I’m already working on a Voyeur Hunter Hunter Hunter business.”

Source: https://www.japantoday.com/category/crime/view/2-men-arrested-for-extorting-over-y3-mil-from-someone-they-saw-taking-upskirt-video

"Police up surveillance against Peeping Toms among Kyoto’s camera-toting tourists"

From The Japan Times, 10/17/16.

Police are ramping up their vigilance at train stations, temples and shrines amid an increasing presence of alleged Peeping Toms in Kyoto’s major tourist areas.

Due to the compactness of image-recording devices, peeping techniques have become far more stealthy, and victims aren’t even aware they are targets.

Kyoto is also a city full of camera-toting tourists, making it hard to determine who might be a Peeping Tom.

In the latest case, a 55-year-old male high school teacher of Osaka was caught red-handed Sunday at the renowned Kiyomizu Temple after he allegedly took a photo up the skirt of a female college student, Kyodo News reported.

The 18-year-old victim was sitting on steep stone steps within the temple compound. Suspect Yoshikazu Tamura reportedly told police he was “disguising himself as a tourist taking photos of the scenery.”

The incident was discovered by staff of TV station Tokyo Broadcasting System who were reporting on Peeping Tom incidents in Kyoto.

In addition to major tourist sites, Kyoto Station, the gateway to the ancient capital, has also experienced a surge in the number of voyeurs.

According to a report by the Iza News website, some internet users call the station a major panchira spot, meaning “that’s where you can get a glimpse of panties.”

The report quoted the Kyoto police as saying the number of peeping incidents in the first half of this year has already exceeded the total of last year.

Plainclothes police are increasing vigilance near escalators and stairs, the report said.

Source: http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2016/10/17/national/crime-legal/police-surveillance-peeping-toms-among-kyotos-camera-toting-tourists/

"Man arrested for trying to film up woman's skirt with smartphone" + a solution to the problem?

Story from Japan Today, 9/8/16.

Police in Osaka have arrested a 50-year-old self-employed man on suspicion of committing an obscene act after he was caught trying to film up a woman’s skirt with his smartphone camera.

According to police, the incident occurred at around 7:45 p.m. on Tuesday at a bookstore on Kita Ward. The suspect, Tetsuji Moriyama, placed his phone up the skirt of a woman in her 40s. The woman yelled at him and Moriyama fled, pursued by the woman and a male bookstore employee, Sankei Shimbun reported. Police said they caught up with him and detained him near Hankyu Umeda Station.

Police quoted Moriyama as saying he was drunk at the time and can’t remember the incident. He was arrested before for committing a similar lewd act in February, police said. At that time, Moriyama attached a miniature camera to his sandals to film up a woman’s skirt in an underground shopping area at Umeda.

Source: https://www.japantoday.com/category/crime/view/man-arrested-for-trying-to-film-up-womans-skirt-with-smartphone

The same day that Japan Today ran this story (including all the usual critical comments about the up-skirt photographer by readers), they ran a seemingly related story and possible solution (note the intended sarcasm) to up-skirt perverts...

Is this suggesting there is no stopping up-skirt perverts and that all one can do is block access to their intended journey to the center of the universe?

Source: https://www.japantoday.com/category/new-products/view/hide-the-universe-under-your-skirt-with-a-pair-of-stunning-cosmic-stockings

"Man arrested after hiding in drain to peep [and photograph] up skirts"

Here's another one... From Japan Today, 11/12/15:

A man in Kobe who hid in a drain for five hours, allegedly to snap photos up women’s skirts, was given away when passers-by spotted his hair sticking out of a grate, police and reports said.

Yasuomi Hirai, 28, allegedly squeezed himself in a section of a gutter 28 centimeters wide, with his head under a piece of iron grating, a police spokesman said Wednesday.

“His hair got caught at the edge of the grate, which drew the attention of some pedestrians,” the spokesman with the Hyogo prefectural police in Kobe told AFP.

The alleged offense took place in August, but police said that Hirai’s arrest on Monday came after a lengthy investigation.

Police did not elaborate but the Sports Hochi tabloid reported Tuesday that Hirai kept himself in the small space for about five hours, holding a smartphone to take photos from under the grate.

Local reports said it was not the first time Hirai has been arrested for the same offense, which violated a local ordinance preventing nuisance acts.

He was nabbed two years ago after squeezing himself into a drain allegedly for the same purpose, Sports Hochi said.

Hirai reportedly told police at the time that he wanted to be reborn as “part of pavement in the next life.”

Source: http://www.japantoday.com/category/crime/view/man-arrested-after-hiding-in-drain-to-peep-up-skirts

"Buddhist monk arrested for filming up girl's skirt on escalator"

Businessmen, judges, policemen, teachers... and now a monk? Story from Japan Today, 3/22/15:

Police have arrested a 41-year-old Buddhist monk for using his smartphone to film up the skirt of a 16-year-old girl as she was on an escalator at JR Odawara Station in Kanagawa Prefecture.

According to police, the incident occurred at around 9:30 p.m. Saturday. The monk was identified as Masuhiro Masuda from a temple in Hadano, TBS reported.

The girl was on a long escalator with her father when she suspected that Masuda, who was behind her, was using his smartphone to film up her skirt. Her father grabbed Masuda at the top of the escalator.

Masuda was quoted by police as saying he had filmed up young girls’ skirts many times before because it made him feel horny.

Source: http://www.japantoday.com/category/crime/view/buddhist-monk-arrested-for-filming-up-girls-skirt-on-escalator

So Wrong: "Oregon judge: taking photos up girl's skirt not illegal"

From Reuters via MSN.com, 2/7/15:

An Oregon judge has acquitted a 61-year-old man who admitted taking photographs up the skirt of a 13-year-old girl as she shopped at a Target store in suburban Portland, lawyers in the case said Friday.

Washington County Circuit Court Judge Eric Butterfield ruled on Thursday that Patrick Buono did not break the law when he surreptitiously took the pictures of the girl in January 2013, said his defense attorney Mark Lawrence.

"He did not deny it and he feels real bad about it too, by the way," Lawrence said.

The girl did not notice his actions, Lawrence said, but another woman in the store alerted officials and film from surveillance cameras later confirmed Buono's act.

The practice of "upskirting" has caused problems for prosecutors in other court cases where there are no laws on the books preventing people from taking unauthorized pictures up the skirts of clothed women in public places.

Prosecutors accused Buono of attempting to engage in criminal conduct and charged him with invasion of privacy and attempted encouraging child sex abuse.

Washington County Deputy District Attorney Paul Maloney said the girl, now 14 and testified against Buono in court, was shocked by the incident. He said he was disappointed by the judge's decision.

...

Lawrence said he filed for an acquittal in the case because there was no Oregon law that Buono had violated.

Maloney said he thinks lawmakers could provide more clarity, "but it was clear what conduct the defendant engaged in."

Are there no child porn laws in Oregon? Seems like another instance of lazy law enforcement and prosecution in the USA.

Source: http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/oregon-judge-taking-photos-up-girls-skirt-not-illegal/ar-AA95oKA

"Own a pair of secret camera shoes? The police should be by shortly for a visit"

From Japan Today, September 25, 2014:

For most of this summer, Kyoto Prefectural Police have been carrying out an aggressive campaign of going to people’s homes and asking them to voluntarily give up their shoes with built-in hidden cameras. These house calls have resulted in hundreds of pairs of these “tosatsu shoes” (voyeur shoes) winding up in police custody.

The shoes contain a hidden camera in the toe behind some mesh which is operated by a remote control

This plan to deter the use of tosatsu shoes to illegally film in private areas such as up women’s skirts had proved so successful that police in Kyoto are spreading the word to other departments and will continue the same tactics in the future.

This strategy started back in mid-July when Kyoto police decided that rather than chase down individual peepers on the streets, they could hit the suppliers instead. On July 1, they raided a camera supply company that sells tosatsu shoes on the side.

They arrested the 26-year-old manager for “aiding voyeurism” which is a violation of the Nuisance Prevention Ordinance and fined him 500,000 yen. While putting the supplier out of the shoe camera business and confiscating their supply was a victory for the police, it later proved to be a mere drop in the bucket.

Several other tosatsu shoe vendors were still selling online with impunity and later that month an Okayama man was arrested while attempting to film up young girls’ skirts at the Kaiyukan Aquarium in Osaka. The shoes he used were from the same company the police had previously raided.

According to police, that company had sold about 2,500 pairs of tosatsu shoes from 2012 to 2014 for a total revenue of around 60 million yen. Setting the money aside for a moment, consider that 2,500 pairs of camera shoes were in circulation in a two-year period. Considering this is only from one company, think about how much pervy recording must be going on out there and get ready for a good boggling of the mind.

Luckily for the police, also seized during the search was a list of about 1,500 customers with their delivery addresses. By mid-August they came up with the plan to pay these former customers a visit one by one. This was tricky as simply owning a pair of camera shoes isn’t illegal and the owners technically didn’t have to relinquish them.

Nevertheless, the Kyoto Prefectural Police relying heavily on the fact that they are police and therefore intimidating, asked each customer to hand over their tosatsu shoes and fill out a “disposal request” on which they have to state why they purchased the shoes in the first place.

They went on, house by house, until, as reported by a police spokesperson, almost all of the shoes in Kyoto were collected – with the exception of a few who “threw them away.” They are also passing along addresses of customers outside of the jurisdiction to the appropriate authorities.

So if you happen to own a pair of tosatsu shoes, you may want to consider disposing of them before the police come a’knocking. But chances are if you were dense enough to buy them online and leave a record of the transaction with your correct name and address, you aren’t going to listen to me anyway.

Source: http://www.japantoday.com/category/crime/view/own-a-pair-of-secret-camera-shoes-the-police-should-be-by-shortly-for-a-visit

See the shoes here:

"SDF pilot arrested for taking photos up girl's skirt at train station"

From Japan Today, August 8, 2014:

A 42-year-old Air Self-Defense Force pilot has been arrested after he took photos up a girl’s skirt at a train station in Nagareyama, Chiba Prefecture.

According to police, the suspect, identified as Shigetaka Katagiri, took photos up a 27-year-old woman’s skirt with his smartphone, while riding an escalator at Nagareyama Otakanomori station at around 10:30 p.m. on Tuesday, TBS reported.

Police said that while taking the pictures, Katagiri’s phone came into contact with the woman’s buttocks, causing her to notice and cry out. Katagiri attempted to flee the scene, but was chased and caught by the woman and a man who had been nearby at the time.

According to Ministry of Defense officials, in April of this year, Katagiri was transferred from the ASDF to the Ministry of Defense Inspector General Headquarters. As inspector general, Katagiri had been in charge of enforcing sexual harassment prevention protocols.

Sigh... yet another example of what visual anthropologists (or anybody else) should not do. You might want to check out the interesting comments at the source.

Source: http://www.japantoday.com/category/crime/view/sdf-pilot-arrested-for-taking-photos-up-girls-skirt-at-train-station

"Mobile-fixated girls easy prey for photo-snapping pervs"

From The Japan Times, May 25, 2014:

by Eric Johnston

With more than 167,000 students studying at 49 universities, junior colleges and technical schools, and with large numbers of high school students visiting on trips, it’s no surprise that Kyoto Prefecture can feel like a giant campus.

Downtown Kyoto and neighborhoods near major universities draw huge numbers of young men and women out for a good time, while train and bus stations disgorge teenagers and young adults, sometimes chattering, sometimes sleepy, on their way to or from class or a sightseeing spot with classmates. But as Kyoto police have warned, it’s teenagers who are most at risk from perverts with a camera.

The Kyoto Prefectural Police said 51 percent of the victims of illicit photography reported last year were their teens. In 38 percent of the cases, they were photographed on commercial premises, especially shopping malls, while 35 percent were snapped in train and bus stations.

In 57 percent of the cases, the alleged perpetrators were charged with illegally taking photos with smartphones. A further 20 percent used regular cell phones and 13 percent used digital cameras.

Just over two-thirds of the accused perpetrators were in their 20s and 30s, while one in five was over 40. Only eight percent of the perpetrators were 50 or older.

Prefectural governments and police departments, including Kyoto, suggest practical steps high school or college-aged females can take to minimize the chance of becoming an unwitting victim of a pervert with a camera. These include pressing down their skirts when on elevators and staircases, but also being more aware of their surroundings while shopping or using their smartphone while standing.

It’s advice so simple some might think it a waste of government time and money to be posting on official government websites. However, a March survey of more than 1,200 teenagers and parents by Digital Arts, a Tokyo-based IT security firm, showed 95 percent of high school girls had mobile devices, and that nearly 30 percent of all high school students were using them between three and six hours a day, checking e-mail, sending text messages, playing games, and so absorbed that they are unaware of their surroundings or what other shoppers, passengers, or people walking or standing behind them might be doing with a smart phone camera.

Source: http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2014/05/25/national/mobile-fixated-girls-easy-prey-for-photo-snapping-pervs/#.U4NlNS9ZG2x

"Kyoto law puts ‘upskirt’ photography in focus"

From The Japan Times, May 25, 2014:

Penalty for illicit snaps upped to ¥1 million fine or a year in prison

by Eric Johnston

Each spring, Kyoto is at its busiest. The cherry blossoms bring in multitudes of tourists, and the start of the new academic year means not only thousands of local students returning to the classroom, but also busloads of junior high and high school students from around the country arriving at hotels and taking the obligatory tour of Kyoto’s historical and cultural landmarks.

At this time in particular, no visitor can fail to escape the clicking of cameras. Be they the semi-professional photographer, with his Canon EOS ID X, Nest Traveller NT-6294AK tripod and telephoto lens longer than your arm, posed on the banks of the Kamo River waiting for the right mix of light and shadow, or the hordes of tourists prowling the backstreets of Gion with their iPhone cameras, searching for Kyoto “geiko” or, really, anything “Kyotoesque” to quickly snap to prove they were there. Everybody is a shutterbug.

But in recent years, the Kyoto police have warned, another kind of photography has become a public nuisance: “Upskirting.”

Surreptitious filming or taking of pictures up the skirts of high school females has long made headlines throughout Japan. A whole subgenre of magazines exists for Peeping Toms who earn their living by taking photos on the sly, while the Internet has created unprecedented opportunities for getting photos and video out to the peeping public.

In an attempt to crack down on sleazy photographers, Kyoto Prefecture has revised an ordinance that expands the scope of protection. Ordinances forbidding covert filming do exist for public places such as shopping centers, railway stations, trains and buses, which fall under the definition of public buildings and transport systems.

The problem, however, is that their scope has traditionally been limited, tying the hands of local governments in preventing perverts from shooting illicit pictures or video, while the punishments have been deemed by police and legal experts as often insufficient to deter perpetrators even if they do get caught.

In October 2012, a male teacher at a Kyoto city junior high school was caught taking pictures under girls’ skirts. Kyoto police could not make an arrest for illegally filming and had to arrest him on another charge. But the incident sparked local interest in expanding the definition of the ordinance, which had been limited to “public places and transport.”

Expanding the definition beyond “public places,” it had long been felt, ran the risk of violating Article 35 of the Constitution, which states that “the right of all persons to be secure in their homes, papers and effects against entries, searches and seizures shall not be impaired.”

But police and law enforcement authorities had long complained that “public places” meant limited protection in quasi-public areas.

A Kyoto prefectural survey last year of 1,700 people said 63 percent did not know that schools and private workplaces fall outside the definition of a “public place”. A total of 89 percent favored extending the reach of the ordinance.

The newly revised ordinance, approved by the assembly in March, now forbids surreptitious filming at “places likely to come under the public eye.”

This means public schools, workplaces, and hospitals are now included in places forbidding such filming or photography. In addition, the revision strengthens the penalty for hidden cameras used at public hot spring bathing areas, changing rooms, and public toilets.

Moreover, in an effort to discourage illicit photographers everywhere, it creates stricter penalties for those who are caught doing all surreptitious filming.

Previously, punishment was up to six months in jail or a ¥500,000 fine. The new penalty is up to one year in prison or a fine of up to ¥1 million.

The change in Kyoto has drawn interest from other local governments. Ishikawa Prefecture plans to propose similar revisions at next month’s assembly, and other governments in the Kansai region have contacted Kyoto Prefecture expressing an interest in adopting something similar.

“It’s not just Kyoto. Other prefectures also think that their ordinances are insufficient. Twenty-seven prefectures are now considering similar revisions,” said Tokyo-based lawyer Hiromasa Hasegawa in a recent blog on Kyoto’s revisions.

The revision also comes amidst growing concern in Kyoto about crime in general, and violent crimes that may result from taking illicit photos or video, in particular.

A separate prefectural survey on safety conducted last year showed that fears of home break-ins accounted for the largest share of concern, with 58.4 percent of the 1,957 residents surveyed in June 2013 saying this is what they feared most. However, some 23 percent said that being filmed illicitly was also on their minds, reflecting increased awareness in Kyoto of the problem.

In 2008, Kyoto police sent 32 incidents of illegal filming to the prosecutors, but that figure had increased to 84 cases by 2013. With the new revisions now in place, however, Kyoto has stronger weapons to go after those who would use their cameras for illicit purposes.

Source: http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2014/05/25/national/kyoto-law-puts-upskirt-photography-focus/#.U4NlOS9ZG2x

Not Japan, but... "Massachusetts Court Rules Upskirt Photos Not a Crime"

We discuss the ethics of doing fieldwork and photographing in Japan quite often at VAOJ. Protecting the privacy of our informants/collaborators is of utmost concern. An extreme example of not respecting privacy that appears quite often in the Japanese media is up-skirt photo taking. It would seem to be common sense that up-skirt photos are a breach of privacy - isn't that why we call them private parts? Taking such photos is against the law in Japan. But apparently this is not the case in many parts of the United States... Read on. Story from NBC News.com, March 6, 2014:

Massachusetts lawmakers are pledging to pass a law against "upskirting" after the state's highest court ruled that a man who took cellphone photos up the skirts of female subway riders did not violate existing statutes.

Michael Robertson was arrested in an August 2010 sting operation, and a lower court upheld the charges against him.

But the Supreme Judicial Court ruled Wednesday that because the women were not nude or partially undressed — requirements under the state's Peeping Tom laws — Robertson was not committing a crime.

"A female passenger on a MBTA trolley who is wearing a skirt, dress, or the like covering these parts of her body is not a person who is 'partially nude,' no matter what is or is not underneath the skirt by way of underwear or other clothing," the court said in its ruling.

State law "does not apply to photographing (or videotaping or electronically surveilling) persons who are fully clothed and, in particular, does not reach the type of upskirting that the defendant is charged with attempting to accomplish on the MBTA," the court said.

Prosecutors had argued that the current law could be interpreted to make upskirt pictures illegal. Now that the court has weighed in, they want lawmakers to amend the statute.

Politicians in both houses of the legislature said that would happen.

"The ruling of the Supreme Judicial Court is contrary to the spirit of the current law," Massachusetts House Speaker Robert DeLeo said. "The House will begin work on updating our statutes to conform with today's technology immediately."

Senate President Therese Murray said she was "stunned and disappointed" with the ruling.

"We have fought too hard and too long for women's rights to take the step backward," Murray said in a statement. "I am in disbelief that the courts would come to this kind of decision and outraged at what it means for women's privacy and public safety."

In the meantime, transit police may not be able to make any arrests for upskirting.

Some other states, such as Nebraska, are also moving to rewrite statutes that now apply only if the person being photographed is undressed or on private property.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/news/crime-courts/massachusetts-court-rules-upskirt-photos-not-crime-n45441

"Iwate tries to crack down on upskirt photos taken with cell phones"

From today's Japan Today:

The northern prefecture of Iwate has Japanese Internet commentators furious over a recent proposal by police there to criminalize pointing a cell phone toward someone if it is suspected the would be photographer is trying to get an upskirt picture.

Police say that they want to “expand” their approach to catching perverts sneaking naughty photos, but critics say this proposed legislation will turn any man with a cell phone into a potential criminal, regardless of whether their finger goes anywhere near the shutter button.

Currently under Iwate law, taking photos of someone’s underwear without their knowledge is only illegal if law enforcement have proof that a picture is taken. In the day and age of easily deletable digital pictures, police say that it is too easy for these panty paparazzi to erase the evidence. Moreover, with smartphone apps that can silence the shutter sound (a big no-no in Japan), they complain too many people are getting away with upskirt photography. So police want to be able to prosecute someone for proof that they intended to take a picture, even if there is no physical evidence.

Netizens were quick to criticize the proposed law, which will come up for vote in the prefectural assembly next March. Otherwise innocent people would be unfairly arrested for just having a smartphone and perhaps staring too long in someone’s direction, they said. Worried about their freedom to brandish a camera phone freely without judgement, netizens said they would think twice about any upcoming travel plans to the northern prefecture if the law is passed.

—I don’t want to get arrested, so I’ll be avoiding Iwate from now on.

—Well, I didn’t really want to go there anyway.

According to a story by the Yomiuri Shimbun, the police will be taking public opinion until Dec 6 and then they will draft the final legislation based on what they hear from the people. Netizens have plenty to tell the Iwate authorities and hoped they would think twice before the prefecture becomes infamous for having the most upskirt pic convictions nationwide.

—I totally understand why, but all this will do is arrest innocent people.

—How will they prove it? Will it just be the word of the accuser against the accused? Sounds dubious.

—From far enough away, doesn’t any picture taken have the possibility of being pointed toward someone’s underwear. Where will the line be drawn?

Are the police justified in their call to crackdown on covert photography? Or are the netizens right and will this law create “criminals” whose only crime is pointing a smartphone in the wrong direction?

Source: http://www.japantoday.com/category/crime/view/iwate-tries-to-crack-down-on-upskirt-photos-taken-with-cell-phones

UPDATE: See also "Cop busted for filming up skirt of student on escalator" (Japan Today 11/25/13) http://www.japantoday.com/category/crime/view/cop-busted-for-filming-up-skirt-of-student-on-escalator

"Assistant judge fired for taking upskirt film"

I certainly don't want to break the spring mood of the previous few posts with yet another upskirt story. But this particular case took place in my own neighborhood and at a time when I theoretically could have been on the train. From Japan Today, 4/11/13.

A 28-year-old assistant Osaka district court judge has been fired after he was arrested for filming up a woman’s skirt while on a train last August.

The Diet’s impeachment court said that Toshiki Hanai, 28, had disgraced his profession with behavior unbecoming of a judge, Fuji TV reported Thursday.

Hanai was arrested after filming up a woman’s skirt on a Keihan train at around 8:30 a.m. between Neyagawashi and Kayashima stations. He was reportedly squatting and taking photos with his smartphone when he was spotted by another male passenger who then restrained him until he was handed over to the authorities, Fuji TV reported.

During police questioning, Hanai was quoted as saying that he was interested to know what kind of underwear the woman was wearing. His phone had images taken up other women’s skirts, police said.

The Osaka district court fined Hanai 500,000 yen and suspended him from duty, but the Diet impeachment court ruled that his behavior warranted dismissal. 

Source: http://www.japantoday.com/category/crime/view/assistant-judge-fired-for-taking-upskirt-film

"'Up-skirt' photos increasing / Advances in camera technology leading rise in voyeurism"

From today's Daily Yomiuri On-Line:

An increasing number of cases of camera and video voyeurism using cell phones and spy cameras have been identified recently. According to the National Police Agency, the number of cases nationwide last year increased about 60 percent over five years ago.

Police have stepped up crackdowns against such crimes, but methods of illicit filming have become increasingly sophisticated due to smaller cameras and improved cell phone video capabilities.

Another factor behind the increase is believed to be the existence of Web sites sharing these photos and videos. Experts say it is necessary to take action against such sites.

According to the NPA, the total number of identified cases of up-skirt photos and videos taken in stations and on trains and illicit filming at public baths and bathrooms was 1,087 in 2006. The number jumped to 1,741 cases in 2010. Of those, 1,702 were cases of up-skirt photos and videos, accounting for about 98 percent.

Among prefectures, 266 cases were detected in Kanagawa Prefecture, followed by 201 cases in Tokyo, 131 cases in Hyogo Prefecture, 111 cases in Chiba Prefecture and 103 cases in Saitama Prefecture. About 40 percent of the cases were detected in the Tokyo metropolitan area--Tokyo and its surrounding three prefectures.

In Chiba Prefecture, cases are also increasing this year. According to the Chiba prefectural police, the number of cases from January through September was 60 percent higher than the corresponding period last year.

Especially noteworthy were videos taken using cell phones. Fifty percent of arrests made by the prefectural police on suspicion of violating the public nuisance ordinance involved filming using cell phone video cameras.

A man arrested by the prefectural police on suspicion of illicit filming in Chiba was quoted by the police as saying: "I used the video function as I cannot take still photos well with my cell phone. The still photo shutter sound is too noticeable."

A police officer explained why illicit video is increasing: "It's easier to shoot videos [than take photos] and it's possible to edit videos when the data is transferred to a computer. The video can be stopped anywhere and photos can be made from it," he said.

According to NTT Docomo, Inc., cell phones began to be equipped with video in about 2003. At first, maximum shooting time was short and images were poor quality. However, they have improved remarkably over the past few years and some current models are equipped with high resolution video capability, producing images as clear as those taken by full-sized video cameras.

Filming methods have also become more surreptitious. Some people hide small cameras in a bag or in their shoe. In Akita Prefecture, a doctor was arrested in September on suspicion of having taken a video of a patient while he was examining her with a video camera watch. The doctor told the police he had bought the camera on the Internet.

The number of cases of illicit filming is also increasing in the jurisdiction of the Metropolitan Police Department over the past few years. A senior MPD officer said, "One of the reasons is cameras have become smaller and quality has improved."

Experts say women using cell phones or wearing earphones are more likely to be targeted. A Chiba prefectural police officer warns women to be cautious of their surroundings, saying, "Please check behind yourself on trains or escalators without being totally absorbed in your cell phone or a music player."

===

Control of Web sites needed

Rissho University Prof. Nobuo Komiya, an expert on criminal sociology, pointed out the necessity of proactive Web site identification by police. "In Japan, measures against indecent images on the Internet are weak and providers aren't detecting Web sites containing illicit images," he said.

Komiya said if such images spread on the Internet, they may cause other problems for victimized women such as stalking. "These images might induce new sexual crimes. I think it's necessary to review current ways of controlling images on the Internet," he said.

Musashino Gakuin University Associate Prof. Yuichi Kogure, an expert on cell phones, said: "Almost everyone carries a cell phone with a camera capabilities, but moral guidance for users is needed. I think the government and cell phone companies need to educate users."

Link: http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/T111107004615.htm

"Sakura Police nab student for taking upskirt videos on escalator"

From Japan Today, 9/30/11:

Police said Thursday they have arrested a 21-year-old Hosei University student for filming up the skirt of an 18-year-old high school girl on an escalator in Nishi-Tokyo in May. The man used a music player with a built-in camera, which he had affixed to his shoe, to take the video, the Sports Nippon tabloid reported.

The suspect was arrested by members of the Sakura Police unit, set up in 2009 to target indecent acts and sexual assaults against minors and women. The unit, operating from the Metropolitan Police Department head office in Kasumigaseki and the Harajuku police station, comprises 56 officers, 16 of whom are women. The officers target areas where minors or women have been approached or assaulted, and appeal for information as well as conduct stakeouts.

Similar complaints from girls at a school near Hosei University prompted the police to search the university student’s home computer, where they found upskirt videos of up to 200 different girls. According to police, some of the videos show the accused following the girls as far as their homes.

The suspect admitted to police he had taken about 250 videos, and that he felt a sense of accomplishment whenever he got a “great shot.”

This is definitely not a proper research method for oh so many reasons...

Read the story and reader comments at Japan Today:
http://www.japantoday.com/category/crime/view/sakura-police-nab-student-for-taking-upskirt-videos-on-escalator

"Cop arrested for filming up high school girl’s skirt in Yokohama"

More of the same old from today's Japan Today:

A 32-year-old police officer was arrested under Kanagawa Prefectural nuisance laws on Tuesday, after he allegedly used a cell phone camera to take video of a 15-year-old girl’s underpants as she rode up an escalator at JR Yokohama station.

Kazuyuki Nagai, a detective based at Minami police station in Yokohama City, was apprehended by a station security staff member at about 4.30 p.m. after he was spotted putting a bag underneath the legs of the girl in front of him on the escalator. Nagai’s cell phone inside the bag was found to contain video of inside the first-year high school girl’s skirt, as well as two other similar up-skirt videos.

Nagai has admitted to the allegations and said that he thought taking the video would be simple. He was returning to his police station after attending an interview for a special training course.

Security staff at the station have been patrolling the escalator and the vicinity after several similar incidents this year. An officer from Asahi police station, also in Yokohama City, was caught in April taking up-skirt videos on the same escalator, police said.

"Cop caught taking up-skirt videos during anti-pervert campaign"

From Japan Today, 10/27/09: (Amusing considering the last post...)

Police said Monday that a Tokyo police sergeant will be prosecuted under a prefectural nuisance prevention ordinance after he was caught using his cell phone camera to take up-skirt videos with his mobile phone camera on the Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line on Sept 18.

The incident took place right in the middle of an anti-“chikan” (pervert) campaign being conducted by the Tokyo Metropolitan Police to stamp out groping on trains.

The offense was noticed by another police officer who was on the same train. Police said that the sergeant broke his cell phone in half, destroying the evidence, after he was reprimanded by the officer.

According to authorities, the sergeant, who is in his 50s and served in Tsukiji’s organized crime division, resigned from his post and apologized, admitting to the charges and saying that he had committed the same act several times in the past.

For the story and reader comments:
http://www.japantoday.com/category/crime/view/cop-caught-taking-up-skirt-videos-during-anti-pervert-month