“It Started as a Conversation About Life” — Inside the Shocking Assault Allegations Against a Veteran Taxi Driver

“I’ll listen to you more.”

The taxi driver parked in a coin-operated parking lot and turned toward the female passenger in the back seat as he said this. Then, he reportedly moved to the back seat himself — and committed the assault.

On September 17, the Takenotsuka Police Station of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department arrested Masakazu Nakamura (72), a resident of Sōka City, Saitama Prefecture, on suspicion of non-consensual sexual intercourse. Nakamura was a taxi driver. He allegedly sexually assaulted a woman in her 20s, identified as Ms. A, inside his taxi, which was parked in a coin-operated lot in Adachi Ward, Tokyo.

“The incident for which he was arrested occurred late at night on May 15. Ms. A, who had been drinking and was intoxicated, got into Nakamura’s taxi. During the ride, she reportedly shared personal troubles and said things like ‘I want to die.’ When they arrived near her home in Adachi Ward, Nakamura parked the taxi in a secluded coin parking lot.

He then said, ‘I’ll listen to you more,’ moved to the back seat, and told her things like, ‘A cute girl like you shouldn’t die,’ as if offering life counseling, before sexually assaulting her inside the car. Ms. A said, ‘I couldn’t scream because I didn’t know what he might do if I resisted.’ When she returned home, she told her family about the incident, and they reported it to the police, which led to the crime being uncovered,” said a reporter from a national newspaper’s social affairs department.”

A striking feature is the large age gap

The arrested suspect, Nakamura, has admitted to the crime and reportedly told police the following:

“I definitely did everything. I just assumed she had consented.”

Former Kanagawa Prefectural Police detective and crime journalist Taihei Ogawa explains:

“The notable feature of this case is the significant age difference between the suspect and the victim. The victim probably felt a sense of safety with the suspect, who was old enough to be her grandfather. Combined with her intoxication, that likely made her open up about her troubles inside the taxi.

The suspect’s actions are extremely malicious. If the allegations are true, it means he took advantage of the victim’s sense of security, pretended to be a sympathetic listener, and then sexually assaulted her. Parking the taxi in a coin-operated lot late at night, out of public view, also suggests he wanted to avoid being seen.”

During Nakamura’s transfer to the prosecutor’s office on September 18, the taxi driver’s sharp, forward gaze showed no sign of remorse.