[Full Text Published] First Hearing for Defendant Shinichi Sato: “Photo of the ‘Begging Professor’ from the University of Tokyo Graduate School Looking Delighted” at an Atami Pole Dance Bar

Was it “coercion”?

With his forehead glistening with oil, the man slipped the tip into the woman’s ample cleavage. His mouth was half-open, and he was clearly drooling—the night he spent at that pole-dancing bar in the hot spring resort must have been a lot of fun.

This man is Shinichi Sato (63), the “Professor Who Begged” from the Graduate School of Medicine at the University of Tokyo. The first hearing in the case in which he is charged with bribery was held on the afternoon of September 25 at the Tokyo District Court.

According to the indictment and other documents, between March ’23 and August ’24, Sato is alleged to have received hospitality totaling approximately 1.83 million yen on 28 occasions at soaplands and high-end clubs in Tokyo from Koichi Hikichi, former representative director of the Japan Cosmetic Association, a general incorporated association,(53, convicted of bribery) in exchange for providing favors related to the establishment of the “Social Collaboration Course,” which was researching the effectiveness of cannabis-derived compounds for treating skin diseases. Sato, dressed in a suit as he took the stand, acknowledged the charges, stating, “There are no errors.”

Sato had previously maintained his innocence, arguing that “the entertainment was not an improper gratuity but compensation for lectures,” but he abruptly admitted his guilt at the first hearing. The trial concluded the same day, with the prosecution seeking a two-year prison term and a forfeiture of approximately 1.83 million yen, while the defense requested a suspended sentence.

The focus of the verdict, to be handed down on October 22, is whether a suspended sentence will be granted; one of the factors in that decision is whether the entertainment was “coerced” or not.When asked about this point by the defense during the trial, Sato denied the allegations, stating, “There was no coercion,” and “It was because [Mr. Hikichi] wanted to use the University of Tokyo brand.” However, Mr. Hikichi, who was present in the courtroom, expressed his anger in an interview after the trial.

“I thought, ‘Don’t lie.’ Sato was in a position of authority with the power to open or close the course. Even before the course began, he would fly into a rage over trivial matters, threatening to ‘cancel the course’ and flaunting his authority—I was absolutely terrified.I couldn’t refuse when he invited me to dinner… The restaurants he chose were all ultra-luxury establishments—the kind frequented by the chairmen of publicly traded companies—and always in private rooms. When he said ‘Thank you’ at the register, I had no choice but to pay.”

As he made this account, Mr. Hikichi showed me a photograph. He said it was from the scene at the pole-dancing bar mentioned at the beginning. It was taken in mid-December 2023. It was a photo from a hot spring trip to Atami that doubled as a year-end party, and Mr. Hikichi was present at the time.

“Sato was thoroughly delighted to have a girl in her underwear perform a private dance for him. There were about 15 of us, and I think we easily spent 1 million yen in total. Moreover, this hot spring trip isn’t included in the 28 entertainment occasions for which he was indicted. It’s just that those weren’t acknowledged—there were plenty of other entertainment events as well.”

What Mr. Hikichi feared was that Sato would take offense and cancel the course altogether. Regarding the dates, times, and locations of the entertainment events, Sato’s subordinate—Ayumu Yoshizaki, a former specially appointed associate professor at the same graduate school (47, convicted of bribery), admitted during his trial this past April, “It is true that I requested [the entertainment].” He also testified that this was part of “the culture of the medical school,” adding:

“If I said something to Professor Sato and he took a dislike to me, I would no longer have a place in the Department of Dermatology at the University of Tokyo.”

The Root Cause of the Coercion to Provide Entertainment

It is said that Yoshizaki, too, was acting while constantly watching the face of Sato, who held absolute power. While the recipient of the bribes may have perceived it as a “request,” from Mr. Hikichi’s perspective—who had no choice but to accept in order to keep the lecture series going—it must have appeared to be “coercion.”

And at the root of these entertainment arrangements lay Sato’s obsession with “women’s bodies.” According to Mr. Hikichi, Sato repeatedly changed the times of these visits to adult entertainment establishments. When asked the reason for this during the trial, Sato explained, “My wife has never suspected me of visiting soaplands.(However,) my wife was worried at the time that I was coming home late, so I did ask them to change the appointments to daytime hours on occasion.” However, Mr. Hikichi was outraged by this testimony as well, calling it “a complete lie.”

“Initially, I arranged for him to visit adult entertainment establishments after evening dinners, but due to Sato’s selfish demand—that ‘the medication doesn’t work well after a meal, so I can’t get an erection’—the timing was changed to before dinner. Then, later on, he requested another change, saying, ‘My wife found out where I was via my smartphone’s GPS, so please schedule it for 11:00 a.m.’To prevent his visits to adult entertainment establishments from being exposed via GPS location data, Sato would leave his smartphone in his own lab while he went out with women. That is the reality of the situation.”

It is said that Sato was so deeply entrenched in the world of adult entertainment that he went so far as to deceive his wife. When allegations of entertainment expenses were reported by the media, the University of Tokyo conducted an internal investigation. Regarding his reason for visiting the soapland, Sato claimed it was “for the purpose of researching sexually transmitted infections.” Yoshizaki revealed the inside story during his own trial.

“Since it would look bad to the public, we thought it would be best to say I went there for research purposes. There was a plan to draw up that (fake outsourcing) contract, and I acted as the point of contact to handle it.”

When questioned by the prosecution on this point, Sato admitted that it was merely an excuse to avoid punishment. Although Sato expressed remorse at the end of the trial, Mr. Hikichi summarized the series of testimonies as follows:

“Sato admitted to the charges, but his explanations were nothing but unreasonable excuses, and he shows absolutely no remorse. He’s being far too stubborn.”

What verdict will the court hand down to Sato, the central figure in this case? (Some titles omitted)

From the October 16, 2026 issue of *FRIDAY*