Nursery Teacher Arrested Again for Sexual Misconduct During Camp Night — The Dark Reality of Male Child Victimization

Indecent Acts at a Children’s Camp

“One of the parents whose child was victimized consulted the police around October last year. Until then, to be honest, I thought he was a kind and good teacher,” said a mother whose child attended the daycare where the arrested teacher worked, speaking cautiously.

On February 24, the Metropolitan Police Department’s First Investigative Division re-arrested nursery school teacher Masaki Kimura (40) from a licensed daycare in Shinjuku on suspicion of forcible indecency. He is suspected of entering rooms where multiple children were sleeping during a children’s club camp held in Nagano Prefecture in January 2023 and touching the lower body of a male elementary school student.

Kimura had already been arrested on February 4, 2024, on suspicion of non-consensual indecency toward an elementary school boy during a camp. About 1,200 obscene images were found on Kimura’s seized smartphone, including approximately 360 that depicted child sexual abuse. Kimura reportedly denies the charges, stating, “I didn’t do it,” during questioning.

On the morning of February 4, around 10 a.m., when Kimura was brought to Shinjuku Police Station, he wore a black hoodie and hunched forward in the back seat, clearly trying to hide his face from cameras. During his transfer to the prosecutors on February 5, Kimura again removed his glasses and leaned forward almost head-to-knee to avoid being photographed before getting into the transport vehicle.

Kimura had worked at the children’s club from July 2019 until March last year, and from April onward, he was employed at a daycare operated by the same organization. According to a social affairs reporter:

“Dozens of parents of children at the children’s club and daycare have reported being subjected to indecent acts by Kimura. The Metropolitan Police are investigating additional offenses. Since October last year, Kimura had been placed on administrative leave.”

The daycare where Kimura worked has been operating in Shinjuku for over 40 years. It is well known for its 24-hour care and has been featured in the media in the past. The recent events are likely to have caused significant shock among the community.

Sexual Abuse of Boys Is Harder to Recognize

The aforementioned parent continued, unable to hide their confusion:

“I had heard rumors like, ‘That teacher likes boys,’ but I thought he just really liked children as a childcare worker. However, last October I learned that a boy had been subjected to terrible acts and that parents were consulting the police. I was shocked to realize that criminal acts had been committed. And now his arrest—I’m still thinking about what to do next.”

If a childcare worker, whose role is to care for children on behalf of parents, commits sexual abuse, it naturally undermines the trust parents place in leaving their children in such care.

A recent case of sexual abuse of boys by a childcare worker was Kōta Yamashiro, who was sentenced to 13 years in prison (prosecutors had requested 15 years) on December 23 last year for abusing seven boys at a nursery in Sumida Ward (the sentence was later finalized).

Yamashiro committed sexual abuse, such as touching the boys’ genitals, over roughly a year from November 2023 to August 2024. However, reports had been made to the nursery since 2019, when he was first employed, alleging that children’s genitals had been touched. The director repeatedly confronted Yamashiro, but he always claimed, “I didn’t do it,” so the abuse only came to light after the victims’ fathers consulted the police.

Some of the children apparently believed Yamashiro was just playing with them and innocently told their parents about the abuse. Security camera footage from the nursery captured the abuse, yet the children’s laughter could still be heard.

Even when children said, “Something unpleasant happened,” some parents thought the child was mistaken. Compared to girls, sexual abuse of boys may be harder to recognize.

Yamashiro was indicted for abusing eight boys, but he denied one of the charges. Although the victim told their parents they had been touched on their genitals, security camera footage only showed Yamashiro moving his fingers over the child’s lower body, and it could not be confirmed whether he actually touched the genitals, resulting in acquittal for that case.

Currently, Masaki Kimura reportedly continues to deny the charges. In cases where there are reports but no images or video evidence for boys, it remains uncertain to what extent prosecution can proceed.

The development of the investigation going forward will be closely watched.

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