Sapporo man arrested for filming woman in company restroom

On May 17, Sapporo Higashi Police Station arrested a 34-year-old company employee from Higashi Ward of Sapporo on suspicion of setting up a phone in his workplace’s restroom and then photographing the genitals of a woman in her thirties at around 6 p.m. on May 16.

The incident came to light after the woman came to the police station at around 10:30 p.m. on May 16, reporting that she had been photographed secretly in the company restroom. It is not clear from media reports how she knew but she presumably found the phone, which must have been a chilling experience to say the least.

The man was identified based on the woman’s story and promptly arrested. The two know each other (presumably as coworkers), so she either knew it was her phone or guessed he was the type to film her in a toilet.

When questioned, the man fully admitted to the charges. “It is factually true.”

According to the media reports, the police are investigating the circumstances at the time, his motive, and any other crimes he may have committed. We can save them time by already telling them his motive: he was turned on by seeing such intimate parts of a woman and probably by the fact that he was filming her in such a humiliating, compromising position without her knowledge.

Tosatsu “peeping Tom” fetish has a significant place in the market here, with porn and other adult content catering to the taste. Besides professionally produced content that merely gives the impression of being filmed secretly, some is made illegally by underground gangs and individuals, and then sold online.

Certain kinds of women like flight attendants and sports athletes are particularly likely to be targeted by voyeurs.

Earlier this month, Kyoto police referred two of its own officers to prosecutors for installing small cameras in a female restroom at a police station as well as taking illicit photos of women at train stations and on trains in Kyoto. The pair’s camera contained 190 such files.

Of course, this isn’t just Japan. In South Korea, where the phenomenon is known as molka, the use of spycams to obtain explicit footage of women in hotel rooms, public toilets, and other locations has sparked a major panic.