Hotel Employee Claims Indecent Act Was for Safety Check

On August 8, the Shibuya Police Department announced the arrest of Koji Honda (49), an employee of a love hotel, on suspicion of non-consensual indecent assault. Honda is accused of touching the body of a woman who was sleeping in a guest room at the love hotel in Shibuya where he worked.

 

“The arrest is based on the suspicion that, between 5:30 and 6:50 a.m. on March 25, Honda forcibly touched the chest and genitals of a woman in her 20s who was sleeping in a guest room. The victim checked into the room with a man, but he left the room before the incident occurred.

 

Honda, who worked part-time at the hotel handling front desk and cleaning duties, was alone at the time of the incident. It appears he entered the guest room after confirming that only the man had left. The incident came to light when the woman, realizing she was being touched, called 110 to report the assault.” (Social Affairs Department Reporter)

Honda has denied the allegations, claiming, “I knocked on the door several times to check on her safety. I touched her shoulder but did not touch her lower body.” However, explicit videos of at least five different sleeping female guests were found on his smartphone, and the Shibuya Police Department is investigating the connection.

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According to the reporter mentioned earlier, the background of this incident is linked to a shocking case that occurred in July of last year.

“On July 2 of last year, around 3 p.m., in a love hotel in the Susukino entertainment district of Sapporo, an employee who became suspicious when a guest did not check out on time discovered a decapitated male body in the room. A 29-year-old woman, who had entered the room with the man the night before, was arrested and charged with the crime of taking the man’s head after the murder.

 

Following this incident, the hotel where Honda worked implemented strict protocols: if one person from a couple staying at the hotel left first, they would make an internal phone call and, if there was no response, knock on the door to ensure the guest’s safety. It seems Honda exploited this rule. He did make internal phone calls and knock on doors before entering rooms, but he may have confirmed that the woman was deeply asleep before entering the room.” 

 

When it comes to hotels, our general perception is that privacy and security are reliably ensured. However, there have been several past incidents where employees have invaded rooms and committed crimes. 

 

“In August of last year, an employee (then 21) at a long-established hotel in Yokohama Chinatown used a master key to enter a room where a couple was staying. While he was caught taking covert photos of the sleeping woman, the couple restrained him and he was arrested on suspicion of illegal entry into a dwelling. Multiple photos of sleeping women were found on the employee’s smartphone.

 

Additionally, in March of this year, a 29-year-old employee in Mutsu City, Aomori Prefecture, was arrested on suspicion of entering guest rooms for the purpose of voyeurism.” (Crime Writer)

 

Even if a hotel room is locked, it seems that achieving complete peace of mind while sleeping is still quite challenging.