<p><span class="strongInContent">In late May, the defendant Shinichi Sato, 62, a professor at the University of Tokyo&#8217;s Graduate School of Law, was sentenced in succession to a subordinate of Sato and the chairman of the board of trustees of his research partner. Nonfiction writer Takehide Mizutani looks at the two verdicts to find out what really happened.</span></p>
<figure id="attachment_469797" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-469797" style="width: 1276px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="09b06980"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/06/c0333c15086fd33ec7c7f3e1f9a995d0.png" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-469797" class="wp-caption-text"> This photo was taken when Sato went to a pole dancing bar in Atami as entertainment for Hikichi, the chairman of the Japan Cosmetics Association, with whom Sato had been conducting joint research. Sato is looking pleased.</figcaption></figure>
<p> After the verdict was handed down, Koichi Hikichi, 52, president of the Japan Cosmetic Association, stated in front of the press that he would not file an appeal and reflected on the past days.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> I remember it as if it were only yesterday. I just had a daily fear of having my course (joint research) closed, so there was no way I could show even one bad face to former Professor Shinichi Sato and Ayumu Yoshizaki (46), former special-appointment associate professor. I would laugh or mend my ways even if I didn&#8217;t want to if I was told by a scary senior colleague to bring money or something like that. Well, the weak part of me, of course, existed, but I never went there to enjoy myself.</span></p>
<p> However, this heartbreaking appeal never reached the court.</p>
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<p> On the morning of May 26, in Courtroom No. 706 of the Tokyo District Court.</p>
<p> The trial was held to deliver the verdict against Hikichi, who was accused of bribing Sato, Yoshizaki, and others by paying them a total of approximately 3.8 million yen in entertainment at high-class clubs and soaplands in Tokyo in connection with their joint research at the Graduate School of Medicine of the University of Tokyo. Mr. Hikichi was sentenced to one year in prison, suspended for three years.</p>
<p> The main point of contention was whether the entertainment constituted &#8220;coercion,&#8221; but the court ruled that it did not, because the content of the messages Hikichi exchanged with Yoshizaki did not show that he was afraid. However, Hikichi&#8217;s fears began eight months before the first entertainment.</p>
<p> It all started when the name of a professor other than Sato was incorrectly listed in the provisional materials for the start of the joint research (course). When Sato saw this, he was furious and unilaterally refused to discuss the matter with strong words such as, &#8220;No need to have an interview,&#8221; and &#8220;I refuse all requests,&#8221; in a reply e-mail. It was supposed to be a simple misunderstanding, but Hikichi was terrified by Sato&#8217;s forceful attitude, which was an attempt to put the research back on track.</p>
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<div data-friday-nextpage-lead=" High-end French cuisine, the starting point of the hell of business entertainment"></div>
<figure id="attachment_469799" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-469799" style="width: 1272px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="7ba7a3ca"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/06/86c00bbe6feeda1d68b565cd39fc14f3.png" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-469799" class="wp-caption-text">Entertainment for Sato began in &#8217;23. At first it was at restaurants, but soon he started going to high-class clubs in Ginza. As shown in the photo, he sometimes brought his favorite women to his laboratory.</figcaption></figure>
<h3><span class="strongInContent"> Entertainment was &#8220;140,000 yen&#8221; from the first time.</span></h3>
<p> The first dinner was held in February 2011 at a high-class French restaurant in Ginza. At the dinner, Sato explained how difficult the procedures for opening the course were and flashed his &#8220;criminal record,&#8221; saying, &#8220;When I was at Kanazawa University, I also went to clubs and other places for entertainment from pharmaceutical companies. He also said, &#8220;When I was at Kanazawa University, I went to clubs and other places for entertainment from pharmaceutical companies.&#8221; For this reason, Hikichi felt &#8220;silent pressure&#8221; for entertainment in the joint research he was involved in. Mr. Hikichi recounts how he felt at the time.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> If I said, &#8216;Let&#8217;s split the bill here,&#8217; and they got in a bad mood, I might be told that I would have to cancel the course again. I was driven by such fear.</span></p>
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<p> Hikichi paid about 140,000 yen for food and drink on the spot, and thereafter, at the request of Sato and others, high-class clubs were added to the dinners, which escalated to a high-class soapland in Yoshiwara a year later. Entertainment was provided twice a month, at a cost of several hundred thousand yen each, sometimes exceeding one million yen. During this period, Hikichi received the following message from Yoshizaki.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> On 3/10 at 00 (the name of a high-class restaurant), Dr. Sato said he would like the 00 course of suppon and shark&#8217;s fin. [Laughs.</span></p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> I told him that Mr. Hikichi would take him to other places, but he said Club 00 was fine. I told him that Mr. Hikichi would take him to other places, but he said Club 00 was fine.</span></p>
<p> Mr. Hikichi responded to these requests in a businesslike manner, and the words alone do not suggest &#8220;fear. However, behind the words, we can see Mr. Hikichi&#8217;s true feelings, as he had no choice but to repair himself in order not to offend anyone. The court could not read between the lines, and its judgment was based only on the evidence presented at the trial.</p>
<p> Satoshi Takayasu, an attorney representing Mr. Hikichi, pointed out the relationship between Sato and others and Mr. Hikichi.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> It is similar to the structure of bullying. The child who is being bullied smiles on the surface and acts as if he is having fun with the bully, even though he doesn&#8217;t want to. That is my impression.</span></p>
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<div data-friday-nextpage-lead=" The &quot;Culture of the University of Tokyo School of Medicine&quot; revealed at the trial by a trusted subordinate."></div>
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<figure id="attachment_469804" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-469804" style="width: 582px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="c2e9407f"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/06/4095222a5b92bf5aeadaf080796278bf.png" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-469804" class="wp-caption-text">Wiping sweat in the waiting room of a high-class soap in Yoshiwara. The course he was using was &#8220;about 80,000 yen a time.&#8221;</figcaption></figure>
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<h3><span class="strongInContent"> What Dr. Sato says is absolute.&#8221;</span></h3>
<p> On May 22, his subordinate Yoshizaki was sentenced to one year in prison, suspended for two years, with a surcharge of approximately 1.96 million yen. Yoshizaki explained at the trial that he had no choice but to follow Sato&#8217;s orders.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> There is a culture in the medical school. I was a graduate of Nagasaki University, and Dr. Sato was a professor of dermatology there at the time. I followed him all the way to the University of Tokyo. What Dr. Sato said had an absolute ring to it.</span></p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> If I said something to Dr. Sato and he didn&#8217;t like it, there would be no place for me at the University of Tokyo Department of Dermatology.</span></p>
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<p> Like Hikichi, Yoshizaki, too, was always looking out for the face of his superiors, who had absolute authority over him. This master-servant relationship was also blatant at the business entertainment scene. Hikichi has the following memory.</p>
<p> It was before the Bon Festival in August 1949. Yoshizaki was returning home with his family to Nagasaki Prefecture. However, he was suddenly summoned by Sato and returned to Tokyo, leaving his wife and other family members behind. Mr. Hikichi recalls.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> Yoshizaki left Nagasaki first thing in the morning and came to a soapland in Yoshiwara. He was sweating, but he had a lot of the family&#8217;s laundry with him. He went straight to Yoshiwara without time to leave them at his home in Tokyo. I was wearing high socks, short pants, and an aloha shirt. When Sato saw me, he was laughing in the waiting room.</span></p>
<p> It was Sato&#8217;s 61st birthday that day.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> But I couldn&#8217;t celebrate because it was at a soapland. But we couldn&#8217;t have a cake served in the waiting room. &#8230;&#8230;&#8221; (Hikichi)</span></p>
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<div data-friday-nextpage-lead=" He also had his hands on his subordinate&#39;s &quot;favorites.&quot; ......"></div>
<figure id="attachment_469801" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-469801" style="width: 1182px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="5d15f4f3"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/06/ffcb7eda06733209502cde2fb8a0bf0c.png" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-469801" class="wp-caption-text">Sato leaving a high-class soap store in Yoshiwara. They were entertained at least seven times.</figcaption></figure>
<p> It was four months earlier, in the spring, that the two began going to a soapland. Hikichi was also thoughtful in his selection of bubbles: he asked the two men in advance what type of girls they liked and, while communicating with the store staff, made reservations for popular bubbles. Sato, in particular, wanted a woman who used to be a nurse.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> Sato had a favorite girl named &#8216;M-chan. But at first Yoshizaki had nominated her. But then Sato said, &#8216;The girl you&#8217;re nominating is cute, so give her to me,&#8217; and she moved on to M-chan.</span></p>
<p> At that time, Hikichi exchanged the following message with Yoshizaki on LINE.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> Please choose either M-chan or A-chan, leaving the emphasis on looks, youth, and technique,&#8221; Mr. Hikichi said.</span></p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> [Mr. Sato said he preferred M-chan. I&#8217;ll go with (Ms. A, whom he nominated last time)! (Mr. Yoshizaki)</span></p>
<p> There was some foam princess swapping going on between the boss and his subordinate.</p>
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<h3><span class="strongInContent"> At the dinner, &#8220;talking about impressions of adult entertainment.&#8221;</span></h3>
<p> The entertainment, which had been conducted in the order of dinner and then soap, was changed to soap and then dinner due to Sato&#8217;s lower body condition. Then their conversation at the dinner turned to impressions of the soaps. Hikichi recalls.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> They were talking about how their sex life was today.　They were talking about it. I would not talk about that kind of thing. At one point, Yoshizaki said, &#8216;Dr. Sato&#8217;s favorite, M-chan, is a little fat, isn&#8217;t she?&#8217; Sato snapped, &#8220;She&#8217;s not fat! Yoshizaki said, &#8220;She ejaculated twice.</span></p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> Yoshizaki said, &#8216;I ejaculated twice,&#8217; and Sato said, &#8216;I&#8217;ve been licking her for four hours. &#8230;&#8230; I kept hearing stupid things like that.</span></p>
<p> All of this was done to make the two feel good so that they could lead to the results of their joint research. However, the progress of the research was not reported at all, and one day when Sato threatened to kill him and bring him money, Hikichi indeed went beyond the boiling point and decided to press charges.</p>
<p> Both Mr. Hikichi and Yoshizaki feared that they &#8220;could not go against&#8221; former Professor Shinichi Sato, a leading authority on dermatology at the University of Tokyo. The trial date has not yet been set, but now that the mask has been removed, one wonders what kind of expression he will appear in court with. (Some titles are omitted.)</p>
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 A case in which a charismatic former professor of the University of Tokyo's Graduate School sought "entertainment" and other forms of entertainment from his joint research partner. The judge sentenced Sato's subordinate and the chancellor of the board of trustees, who were arrested one after the other. Nonfiction writer Takehide Mizutani looks into the realities of the case.

New revelations in the &#8220;court decision of a related party&#8221; of a former professor of the University of Tokyo who &#8220;begged for his 61st birthday at a high-class soap shop&#8221;.

New revelations in the “court decision of a related party” of a former professor of the University of Tokyo who “begged for his 61st birthday at a high-class soap shop”.

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