A 37-year-old man “sexually assaulted a woman of his choice in a parking lot after 20 minutes of ransacking.
Immediately after his arrest, the man entered the police station and appeared dismayed.
When he noticed the assembled press, including the photographer for this magazine, he looked flustered. He must have felt awkward and embarrassed. Suddenly he turned his head down and pulled the hood of his coat over his head to hide his face.
By January 8, the Chofu Police Station of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department had arrested Takashi Shinkawa, 37, a self-proclaimed part-time worker, on suspicion of non-consensual sexual intercourse. He is alleged to have sexually assaulted a woman in her 20s, Ms. A, on a street in Chofu City, Tokyo.
The incident occurred late at night on November 18 last year. Ms. A was on her way home when Mr. Shinkawa appeared in front of her and suddenly exposed his lower body on the street. He grabbed Ms. A by the arm and took her to a nearby parking lot, where he hugged her from behind, put his hand inside her underwear, and touched her lower body.
Ms. A. was in the vicinity and asked for help, and then complained to the police.
I have no recollection of this incident.”
It is believed that Mr. Shinkawa was looking for a woman of his liking when he committed the crime. Security cameras caught him driving and walking back and forth in the vicinity of the crime scene for about 20 minutes, acting suspiciously. When questioned by the police, he denied the charges, stating, “I have no recollection of the crime.
I have no recollection of any of this. I don’t know what he is talking about.
In recent years, there has been a string of incidents in which women have been the victims of indecent assaults on the streets late at night. In July 2011, a man in his 30s was arrested in Itabashi Ward, Tokyo, for touching the breasts of a female college student on her way home from behind. In August of the same year, a man in his 50s riding a bicycle on a street in Nerima-ku, Tokyo, told a teenage woman he had hit her, “Your basket is broken. The man is alleged to have sexually assaulted the teenager.
Is there any countermeasure for the trouble that occurs late at night? Former Kanagawa Prefectural Police detective and crime journalist Taihei Ogawa explains.
It is natural to walk on a busy main street as much as possible,” said Taihei Ogawa, a former Kanagawa Prefectural Police detective and crime journalist. It is very dangerous to take shortcuts through deserted parks. Also, don’t operate your smartphone while walking. If you are wearing earphones while watching a video, you may not notice a suspicious person approaching.
Also, you will slow down your walking speed, making you an easy target for an assailant. If you are on your way home, you tend to feel safe and neglect to pay attention to your surroundings because you walk on the same path you walk every day. If it is late at night, I think it is necessary to be vigilant enough to keep your eyes peeled while walking, even on familiar routes.
The police are also investigating the aforementioned incident as well as other crimes committed by the suspect.
PHOTO: Shinji Hasuo