Arrested for Molesting a Woman in Her 20s a 27-Year-Old Claims Stress Led to Losing Control

Stress as a cause is easy to say

A man descended the stairs, not hanging his head but glancing around, seemingly alert to his surroundings. Even when he noticed the reporters’ cameras, his expression didn’t change as he stared back.

By February 27, a company employee was arrested on suspicion of following women on the street and committing repeated indecent acts.

“The arrested suspect is 27-year-old company employee Shunto Tochinai. According to investigators, in January of this year, Tochinai allegedly spotted a woman in her 20s walking home near a station in Nerima Ward, Tokyo, and followed her for about 500 meters. He then approached from behind without being noticed and touched her buttocks, among other indecent acts. Tochinai was reportedly intoxicated at the time and admitted to the charges during questioning, saying things like, ‘I couldn’t control myself due to stress at work’” (National newspaper social affairs reporter).

The crime commonly referred to as “chikan” (groping) continues to have a persistently high arrest rate. In 2023, Japan revised its Penal Code to introduce the new crime of non-consensual indecency, which has generally resulted in heavier penalties. Even first-time offenders are now sometimes arrested and sentenced to prison.

For example, in May 2024, an unemployed man who touched the buttocks of a high school girl (then 15) on a private railway train was sentenced to four years in prison by the Tokyo District Court. He admitted during arrest that he had committed about 50 groping acts to relieve stress. In court, he apologized to the victim, stating:

“At the time of the offense, I couldn’t control my stress and desires, so I couldn’t consider the victim’s feelings.”

The judge remarked:

“Self-centered decisions to relieve stress must be strongly condemned,”

and sentenced him to four years’ imprisonment, despite being a first-time offender. The man promised he would avoid trains and stay away from women to prevent repeating such acts, and planned to engage in hobbies and sports after returning to society. However, the recidivism rate for these crimes remains extremely high.

Expert insight

Professor Masafumi Usui, a social psychology expert at Niigata Seiryo University Graduate School, explains:

“When suspects of groping are arrested, it’s common to hear statements like stress was the cause or I couldn’t control myself due to alcohol. These are easy self-defense excuses to give during police questioning and are also easy for police to report publicly. However, deeper investigation often reveals a different motive. While people might assume it was an uncontrollable sexual desire, in some cases it is actually a desire to dominate women.”

Even so, most people with such impulses do not commit crimes. Many can control these urges with reason.

“But what if the cause is a specific sexual fetish? For example, someone might only recently realize that they get aroused by touching high school girls’ indoor shoes. To satisfy this fetish, they may feel compelled to enter a school and steal shoes repeatedly. Such fetishes cannot be cured with treatment, so the practical solution is avoidance. When a man who repeatedly groped on trains said in court that he would avoid trains, he was correct. Cutting off access to the trigger behavior is key.”

Investigators say that around the time Tochinai committed these offenses, similar incidents were occurring in the area. Authorities are currently investigating related cases, including potential additional offenses.