38-year-old man suspected of indecent exposure: “I pushed him down but couldn’t do it because of the commotion”… “skinhead, staring at the cameraman,” terrifying appearance.

A large man with a skinhead and tattoos on his arms came out of the police station. When he noticed the photographer, he glared at him and appeared to scowl.

This was the scene on the morning of May 22, when a man was arrested for allegedly breaking into a young woman’s room. The man is Masamichi Ito, 38, a company employee living in Musashimurayama City, Tokyo, who was arrested on May 20 by the Higashiyamato Police Station of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department on suspicion of indecent assault and breaking and entering.

The alleged incident took place after 10:00 p.m. on November 13 last year. The victim was a woman in her 20s, Ms. A, who lived in Musashimurayama City. The suspect Ito found Ms. A getting off the bus at the nearest bus stop to go home. He followed her and broke into her apartment through the front door.

It is alleged that he pushed Ms. A down, touched her breasts, and committed other indecent acts. Ms. Ito must have been terrified of being attacked by the large, skinhead man, and when Ms. A let out a scream that echoed around her, the suspect fled the apartment. Ito emerged in the investigation based on security camera footage, etc. It is said that the two had never met each other.

If you call the police, we will expose you!

At the time, Ito was drunk and intoxicated. He denied some of the allegations in response to police inquiries.

I pushed him down, but he made a fuss, so I couldn’t do anything indecent.”

There is no end to the number of indecent assaults on women’s homes. Here are some of the recent cases.

In December 2011, a man in his 20s was arrested on suspicion of indecent assault. He followed a woman in her 20s whom he did not know from in front of a station. When he entered the premises of an apartment building where the woman lived, he allegedly touched her. He fled when the woman violently resisted, but was arrested based on security camera footage and other evidence.

In May ’24, a man in his 40s was arrested on suspicion of breaking and entering. He followed a woman in her 20s whom he saw at a convenience store. He entered the woman’s unlocked apartment early in the morning, held up his smartphone, and threatened to expose her image if she reported the crime. The woman, who lives alone, is believed to have been the victim of these crimes.

What measures should women living alone take against such crimes? Former Kanagawa Prefectural Police detective and crime journalist Taihei Ogawa explains.

When walking home alone at night, avoid listening to music or using your smartphone. When you are near your home, you tend to feel safe and relaxed. And if your attention is focused on your smartphone, you may be distracted from your surroundings and may not even realize you are being followed.

When on the street at night, keep a security buzzer ready for use. If possible, it is best to have your apartment or condominium along a main street where many people pass by. If you are going to be late coming home due to meetings or other reasons, it is also effective to camouflage yourself as if you have someone living with you by putting your room on a timer so that the lights come on at night.

The police are also investigating Ito’s other crimes in the case mentioned at the beginning of this article.