TV Personality and Shark Enthusiast Accused of Filming Female Student in Alma Mater’s Bathroom

A masked man with downcast eyes emerged from the police station. The man, photographed by our magazine’s cameraman during his transfer, no longer exuded the glamorous aura of someone who once appeared on television.

The Takanawa Police Station of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department arrested Sakuya Toyoda, a 22-year-old unemployed resident of Shibuya Ward, Tokyo, on August 14 on suspicion of voyeurism. Toyoda is accused of entering the campus of Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology (Minato Ward) around 4 p.m. that same day and attempting to secretly film a female university student in the bathroom.

“Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology is Toyoda’s alma mater. He had just graduated from the university in March of this year. It is the only national university in Japan specializing in marine studies, producing many leaders in the fisheries industry and academics.

Toyoda, who had only recently graduated and was likely familiar with the layout of the campus, is believed to have entered the premises and attempted to film the female student in a bathroom stall by holding his smartphone over the top. The female student noticed the phone pointed at her, and after chasing down the fleeing Toyoda, the incident came to light,” said a reporter from the national newspaper’s society section.

“I wanted to experience the thrill”

Toyoda reportedly admitted to the crime during police questioning, stating:

“I wanted to experience the thrill.”

Toyoda’s background had been glamorous since his high school days.

“He attended a prestigious private high school in Setagaya Ward. He was a member of the biology club and won a famous academic award through joint research with other students. After participating in a camp organized by a journalist knowledgeable about fish, he became an avid shark enthusiast.

In April 2019, he appeared on a variety show on a commercial TV network as a ‘shark enthusiast.’ His light-hearted talk, including phrases like ‘Yoro-shark onegaishimasu,’ made him popular. He was introduced as having created around 300 shark specimens using his home bath and other places. He was popular with women since high school, and even had a girlfriend when he appeared on the variety show,” said the same source.

Did Toyoda really want to “experience the thrill” so badly that he threw away his glamorous career? The police are continuing to investigate whether there are any additional offenses.