From Campus Scandal to Criminal Front: The Tumultuous Downfall of a University Associate Professor

“If I weren’t there, the business wouldn’t survive.”

On May 10th, four men and women, including Toshiyuki Miyazaki (39), the operator of “Toyama Men’s Esthetic KOMOREBI,” and Hiroshi Takitani (49), an associate professor at the Toyama University Information Infrastructure Center, were arrested on suspicion of violating the Adult Entertainment Business Act for providing illegal sexual services at an apartment in Toyama City.

“The esthetic salon had been operating since the spring of 2022, and Takitani, who was introduced to the business through a mutual acquaintance, later became involved in its management. According to police investigations, Takitani explained that he got involved in managing the adult business because he was financially struggling, having spent too much on living expenses and entertainment,” said a reporter from a national newspaper’s social affairs department.

Takitani, who specialized in data science and computational science at the university, was reportedly involved in every aspect of running the illegal men’s esthetic business — creating and promoting the website, providing sexual service guidance to the female staff, and overseeing overall management.

“After Takitani joined, business improved dramatically, and monthly sales reportedly rose to around 10 million yen. It’s believed the salon made several hundred million yen over its three years in operation. Takitani was even heard bragging to those around him, saying, ‘Without me, the business wouldn’t survive,’” added the reporter.

The illicit men’s esthetic business operated out of a 25-year-old, four-story apartment building near Toyama University, where Takitani worked. Each room was a one-bedroom unit with a rent of 35,000 yen per month. The business rented 10 of the 18 units, operating from 9 a.m. to 2 a.m. the following morning. Nearly 50 female employees, ranging from teenagers to women in their 40s, worked there.

Though Takitani claimed financial hardship led him to the illegal adult business, sources say money-related troubles had followed him for years.

“In June 2016, he was arrested on suspicion of stealing a wallet from a man in his 60s at a supermarket in Toyama City and using the man’s credit card to buy gasoline. That case resulted in a suspended indictment, but around the same time, he was also caught telling Toyama University students that he would give them course credits if they registered their personal details, such as addresses and phone numbers, with a staffing agency where he served as an executive,” said a local newspaper reporter.

As a result, Takitani received a disciplinary pay cut of one-tenth his salary from the university. At the time, he worked under the surname Okumura, but later began using his wife’s maiden name, Takitani.

In 2005, Takitani had purchased a detached house with a land area of over 200 square meters in a quiet residential area of Toyama City. “Considering that, it’s hard to believe his crime was really motivated by financial hardship,” a local resident commented.

“I also didn’t know he had changed his surname until this incident came to light. After the 2016 theft case, we basically lost contact, and hardly saw him around the neighborhood anymore.”

One thing is clear: Hiroshi Takitani no longer has any right to call himself an educator.