Suspects in Girl Abduction Case Offer Shocking Justifications Claiming Kindness Could Lead to Dating

“My daughter hasn’t come back”

The mother contacted the police on August 13.

The Meguro Police Station of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police began investigating, and three days later, on August 16, the 14-year-old junior high school student A was found in an apartment room in Shibuya, Tokyo.

“The person with her was Ryosuke Yamamoto (20), a university student and resident of the apartment. The police arrested Yamamoto on the spot on suspicion of abducting a minor. According to the police, Yamamoto is said to have invited A to his home and abducted her from August 12 to 16, despite knowing she was a minor.

The two met through a social media game app and began meeting in person around July of this year. Yamamoto reportedly gave A a spare key to his room and said, ‘You can come anytime.’ In response to the investigation, Yamamoto has denied the charges, stating, ‘I didn’t think she was a minor. I don’t think I committed an abduction’” (Reporter from a national newspaper’s social department).

 

“Is a master-servant relationship preferable?”

Our magazine’s photographer captured Ryosuke Yamamoto being escorted. He appeared calm and looked around at his surroundings.

In recent years, there has been a surge in troubles involving abducting girls through social media. The suspects’ excuses are shocking. Here are some major cases from recent years (ages at the time):

• In May 2019, a 34-year-old man abducted a 14-year-old girl. He posted on social media offering to listen to her problems, lured her to his home, and confined her. He yelled and assaulted her, asking questions like, “Is a master-servant relationship preferable? Or do you want an equal, married-couple-like relationship?” He used a collar and chains to prevent her from escaping and subjected her to sexual violence for six months, creating over 160 videos. The man also abducted a 12-year-old girl and was sentenced to 20 years in prison in March 2022.
• In September 2022, a 28-year-old man abducted a junior high school girl with suicidal tendencies whom he met on social media. He reportedly spent a few days at his home with her and then took her to a bridge in a mountainous area to help her with suicide. The girl was found dead. The man’s motive was sexual. In court after his arrest and indictment, he stated, “I thought that if I was kind to a mentally unstable woman, she would become interested in me and it would be easy to date or have sex.” He also said, “I had met 5 or 6 women with suicidal tendencies before.” The man was sentenced to 5 years and 6 months in prison.

Meeting strangers through social media and then meeting alone in person is inherently dangerous, especially for minors. The police are urging caution.