Ministry of Finance Expert Arrested for Voyeurism at Station

At the escalator of the nearest station to his workplace, the man reportedly inserted a smartphone under the skirt of a woman standing in front of him.

On December 15, the Takaito Police Station of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department arrested Yasutaka Yoneda (44), a resident of Suginami Ward, Tokyo, on suspicion of violating the Act on Punishment of Sexual Exploitation (filming). Yoneda is a Ministry of Finance official and a specially appointed associate professor in the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration at Tokyo Metropolitan University (Hachioji City).

“Yoneda graduated from Tokyo Metropolitan University and pursued fiscal studies at Hitotsubashi University Graduate School, making him an expert in public finance. He joined the Tokyo Regional Taxation Bureau in April 2005 as a national tax specialist and later worked at the Ministry of Finance’s Policy Research Institute. Since April 2024, he has been teaching international finance and other subjects at Tokyo Metropolitan University. He has authored numerous papers and achievements, including ‘Future Projections of Public Assistance Costs’ and ‘Analysis of Housing Loan Interest Rates,'” said a Ministry of Finance official.

The incident leading to his arrest occurred on October 23, 2024, shortly after 10 a.m.

 

“I don’t remember.”

The incident occurred at the nearest station to Tokyo Metropolitan University, at Minami-Osawa Station on the Keio Sagamihara Line. Yoneda reportedly held his smartphone up to the skirt of a woman, A, who was standing in front of him on the escalator and took pictures of her underwear. A did not realize she was being filmed.

However, Yoneda was involved in another incident a few days later at a different station in Suginami Ward, where he allegedly filmed another woman, B. B reported the incident to the police, claiming that she had been filmed without her consent. After investigating Yoneda’s smartphone, the police discovered images that appeared to be of A, which led to his arrest.

Yoneda, arrested due to repeated voyeurism allegations, reportedly denied the charges during police interrogation, claiming he didn’t remember the events.

A photographer from the magazine captured Yoneda’s transport to the police station on December 17, shortly after his arrest. In the photo, he appeared dazed and weary, his head lowered in despair.

Unable to control his impulses, Yoneda has lost his social standing as an expert in public finance. The police are continuing to investigate any additional offenses.