<figure id="attachment_428178" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-428178" style="width: 640px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="0206c9b9"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2025/06/5a7ea55309ae2fa8a448b706bd9d7339.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-428178" class="wp-caption-text">The defendant denied committing the indecent act said to have taken place on the stairs of the apartment building, saying he did not do it (image shown).</figcaption></figure>
<h3><span class="strongInContent"> Don&#8217;t tell anyone, I promise.</span></h3>
<p> On May 30, the Tokyo District Court heard the second trial of Hajime Tanaka, 51, who is accused of indecently assaulting a 6-year-old girl on the stairs of an apartment complex.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> Tanaka was arrested on October 6, 2012, by the Kamata Police Station of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department on suspicion of indecent assault, for allegedly touching the breasts of A-chan (then 6 years old) on July 28, 2012, at an apartment in an apartment complex in Ota Ward, Tokyo. On February 26, 2003, Tanaka was sentenced to three years in prison for indecent assault on February 26, 2003, for having indecently assaulted an 8-year-old child multiple times in 2002. He committed this crime approximately six and a half years after his release from prison.</span></p>
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<p> Tanaka has denied committing the crime at all of his trials. This article introduces the &#8220;arguments&#8221; that Tanaka made throughout his first trial on April 18, 2013.</p>
<p> The prosecutor read out the indictment, which revealed Tanaka&#8217;s dastardly acts as follows.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> Tanaka told A-chan, who was waiting for the elevator to go to a friend&#8217;s house, where he was going to visit her, and got into the elevator with her. and invited her to the stairs leading down to the 10th floor, where he touched her breasts.</span></p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> After the crime, Tanaka put his index finger to his mouth and said, &#8220;Don&#8217;t tell anyone, I promise,&#8221; and shook her hand and cut off her fingers before parting with her. She told her friend&#8217;s grandmother that she had been victimized, and A&#8217;s father, who heard about it, called the police.</span></p>
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<p> When asked to confirm his guilt or innocence, Tanaka denied that he <span class="strongInContent">had committed any indecent acts.</span> During the questioning of the defendant, Tanaka began to talk about the day of the incident in response to questions from his defense counsel.</p>
<div data-friday-nextpage-lead=" Tanaka pleaded not guilty, and his &quot;argument&quot; was"></div>
<h3><span class="strongInContent">&#8220;Afraid of being caught trespassing without permission&#8221;?</span></h3>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> After running some errands at my parents&#8217; house, I drove by the apartment complex. It was a nice day, so I thought it would be beautiful to have a cup of coffee on the roof of the apartment building and look at the view below. I parked my car in the complex, bought a can of coffee, and entered the apartment without permission.&#8221;</span></p>
<p> Tanaka&#8217;s parents&#8217; house is located near the complex, and he had some familiarity with the area. The apartment building had a security camera at the entrance, but it was not auto-locked.</p>
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<p><span class="strongInContent"> A little girl (A-chan) was waiting alone in front of the elevator. I felt guilty that I had broken into the apartment without permission, so I scurried around and talked to her, saying things like, &#8216;It&#8217;s hot, where are you going?</span></p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> After getting on the elevator, the girl pressed the button for the 11th floor, but I did not press the floor number button so that she would not know that I was going to the rooftop. I said to the girl, &#8216;We are on the same 11th floor, so I will go downstairs with you.</span></p>
<p> Tanaka gave up on going to the rooftop, got off the elevator, and headed straight for the stairs. When he turned around at the stairs, he saw the girl following him.</p>
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<p><span class="strongInContent"> He held the girl by her left shoulder with his right palm, as if to say, &#8216;Don&#8217;t follow me. Then, to prevent the unauthorized entry from being discovered, I told her, &#8216;Don&#8217;t tell anyone I&#8217;m here. I told her, &#8216;I promise,&#8217; and then I shook her hand and cut off her fingers, hoping to calm her down after I had startled her.</span></p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> Then I went down to the first floor, hid my face so that the unauthorized entry would not be discovered, walked past the security camera, took off the T-shirt I was wearing because it was hot, got into my car, and went home.</span></p>
<div data-friday-nextpage-lead=" Tanaka&#39;s testimony, which differed in various ways"></div>
<h3><span class="strongInContent">The statement is not true.</span></h3>
<p> However, A-chan&#8217;s statement differs from Tanaka&#8217;s testimony: during the police interview, A-chan stated that Tanaka told her <span class="strongInContent">to &#8220;come to the stairs&#8221;</span> and touched her breasts there, using gestures and hand gestures. She <span class="strongInContent">also said that &#8220;Uncle [Tanaka] ran away when [A&#8217;s] friend came.</span></p>
<p> When asked by the defense attorney about the discrepancy between his statement and that of A, Tanaka <span class="strongInContent">replied, &#8220;He may have thought I was suspicious and followed me, or he may have misunderstood that I said, &#8216;I&#8217;m going to the stairs,&#8217; and thought, &#8216;Follow me to the stairs. And as for the &#8220;friend,&#8221; I have no memory of anyone coming to me,&#8221;</span> he denied.</p>
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<p> In addition, Tanaka stated immediately after his arrest that he <span class="strongInContent">&#8220;wanted to see the pattern on the T-shirt the girl was wearing, so I grabbed the left breast area of her clothes,&#8221;</span> which differs from his testimony that <span class="strongInContent">he &#8220;held the left shoulder area with my right palm.</span> He claimed that this was because he had been arrested about two months after the incident and was in a state of panic, and that he had responded to the police interrogation with a vague memory until he turned silent on the advice of his defense counsel.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> He said that he had an idea that he had touched the girl, so he quickly made a false excuse. I had an idea that I had touched the girl, so I quickly made a false excuse, which led to an untrue statement being made. I admitted everything to the police as they told me it must have happened. It is clear from the security camera footage that my initial statement, &#8216;I went up the stairs to the 12th floor and took the elevator down to the first floor,&#8217; was incorrect.</span></p>
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<p> Tanaka completely denied committing the indecent act, saying that his memory became clearer after his defense attorney showed him the security camera footage and other information. Tanaka&#8217;s numerous acts, which he says were motivated by his fear of being discovered for &#8220;breaking and entering&#8221; into the apartment, make his behavior seem even more suspicious. &#8230;&#8230; I wonder how far his excuses reached those who were present at the trial, including the relatives of A-chan. I wonder how far his defense reached those who were present at the trial, including A&#8217;s relatives.</p>
<p> In the second part of this article, we will introduce how the prosecutors pursued Tanaka&#8217;s irrational excuses and the &#8220;angry words&#8221; of the victim&#8217;s father who took the witness stand.</p>
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<p><a href="https://friday.kodansha.co.jp/article/428180"> In the second part of the article, the father of the victim reveals his anger at the defendant&#8217;s evasion.</a></p>
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 Ryo Nakahira

 A man who was arrested last October for committing an indecent act on a 6-year-old girl is currently on trial. The man insists that he did not commit any indecent acts. What is the "argument" that he made at his first trial?

6-year-old girl&#8217;s non-consensual obscenity: &#8220;Don&#8217;t tell anyone&#8221; was to calm her down&#8230;Defendant&#8217;s &#8220;argument&#8221; that she continued to deny committing the crime.

6-year-old girl’s non-consensual obscenity: “Don’t tell anyone” was to calm her down…Defendant’s “argument” that she continued to deny committing the crime.

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