Even a Middle School Teacher… Two Arrested on Suspicion of Voyeurism in a Matter of Minutes! The “Background” Behind the Spate of Voyeurism Incidents at Yotsukaido Station in Chiba

In the span of just five minutes…

On September 10, an unusual incident occurred at JR Yotsukaido Station in Yotsukaido City, Chiba Prefecture, where two men suspected of voyeurism were apprehended within a span of just five minutes.

Takuya Takahashi (32), a teacher at Funabashi Municipal Ninomiya Junior High School who resides in Inage Ward, Chiba City, was arrested by the Yotsukaido Police Station on the 10th on suspicion of violating the Act on Punishment of Filming Indecent Acts (filming).Around 3:37 p.m. on the stairs at the north exit of Yotsukaido Station, he allegedly approached a high school girl from behind, slipped his smartphone under her skirt, and recorded a video.

“A railway police officer on patrol witnessed Takahashi’s crime and arrested him in the act. Takahashi explained his motive, saying, ‘I can’t resist the thrill of secretly filming women’s underwear, which is usually hidden,’ and has admitted to the charges.

“Several videos believed to have been recorded in a similar manner were found on Takahashi’s smartphone, and the prefectural police are investigating the case on the assumption that he was a habitual offender,” said a reporter from the crime desk of a national newspaper.

Just a few minutes earlier, another suspect had been arrested at the same station for a separate voyeurism incident.

“Around 3:32 p.m., on the escalator at the same North Exit of JR Yotsukaido Station, Kosuke Ono (34), an office worker from Wakaba Ward, Chiba City, is suspected of using his smartphone to record a video under a high school girl’s skirt.The incident came to light after he was stopped for questioning by a railway police officer who was on high alert, and he was arrested the same day on suspicion of violating the Act on Punishment of Filming Indecent Acts (filming).

Suspect Ono has admitted to the charges and stated, ‘I thought if I recorded a video with my own smartphone, I could enjoy it over and over again later’” (ibid.)

The two were sent for prosecution from the Yotsukaido Police Station around 9:30 a.m. on the 12th. The first to emerge was suspect Ono, who had long hair with the sides cropped short. He turned his face away from the camera and hurriedly got into a car. Suspect Takahashi, who appeared about a minute later, frowned when he saw the camera.He had dark circles under his eyes and looked haggard.

At Yotsukaido Station, where the incident occurred, there have been at least seven confirmed cases of voyeurism and attempted voyeurism since 2021. When asked about these arrests, the Chiba Prefectural Police Railway Police Unit stated , “We were not specifically focusing our surveillance on Yotsukaido Station.”

“We conduct comprehensive patrols, focusing not only on voyeurism but also on sexual harassment and disruptive behavior, primarily at stations with high reported incident rates—such as Chiba Station and Nishi-Funabashi Station—as well as stations frequented by high school girls. It just so happened that there were two incidents on that particular day.”

At specific times and specific locations

According to JR East statistics, the average daily ridership for fiscal year ’24 was 129,904 at Nishi-Funabashi Station and 104,225 at Chiba Station. In contrast, Yotsukaido Station recorded 20,324.

Looking solely at passenger volume, Yotsukaido Station is significantly smaller than the two stations cited by the Railway Police as having high numbers of reported incidents. “Incidents at Yotsukaido Station share a certain characteristic, ” says a writer specializing in sex crimes.

“According to publicly available information, the victims in the seven voyeurism cases at Yotsukaido Station were ‘women’ and ‘women in their 20s,’ while the remaining five cases all involved ‘high school girls.’Furthermore, five of the seven cases occurred on the stairs or escalators at the North Exit. While the time of the crime is unknown for one case, the rest are all concentrated between 3:30 p.m. and 6:00 p.m.”

Indeed, there is a noticeable pattern in the demographics of the victims, the locations of the incidents, and the times of day.

“There are four high schools on the north side of Yotsukaido Station. The most recent published student enrollment figures total approximately 3,000. Of these, about 1,900 are female, accounting for more than 60 percent of the student body across the four schools.The time period when the incidents are concentrated—from around 3:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.—coincides with the time high school students are heading home. As a result, many female high school students pass through the north exit area.

Some habitual voyeurs create closed communities on platforms such as X, LINE, and Discord to buy and sell images and exchange information. In past investigations, we have confirmed instances where users shared “recommended voyeurism spots” on online message boards.“Is it possible that information regarding times and locations with a high concentration of female high school students was also being shared regarding the north exit of Yotsukaido Station? That’s what concerns me,” (ibid.)

Could the series of voyeurism busts at Yotsukaido Station’s North Exit be because the area was recognized as a “voyeurism spot” among habitual offenders?

At this point, no evidence has been found to support this theory. However, the fact that incidents involving female high school students are repeatedly occurring at the same location and during the same time periods carries significant weight.