Primary school teachers arrested in Japan for sharing indecent photos of girls
Yuji Moriyama, 42, a teacher at the Kosaka Elementary School in Nagoya, and Fumiya Kosemura, 37, from the Hongodai Elementary School in Yokohama, have been accused of violating Japanese law regulating the creation and distribution of certain types of sexual images.
They were arrested on 24 June.
The Aichi prefectural police suspect the two men of being members of an online chat group of schoolteachers with a shared interest in voyeuristic photography and videography.
Mr Moriyama, the chat group's administrator, allegedly possessed nearly 70 photos and videos of girls changing clothes as well as images taken from under skirts.
According to the police, Mr Moriyama took photos of a schoolgirl in her underwear in Aichi prefecture around September 2024 while Mr Kosemura did the same in Kanagawa prefecture around January 2025.
They then shared the images with other members of the group.
Mr Kosemura has admitted to the allegations. "I took pictures of female students in their underwear and sent them to people in the group,' the Tokyo Reporter quoted him as saying.
The investigation into the two men began in March 2025 after another elementary school teacher was arrested for allegedly putting body fluid on a girl's backpack at a train station in Nagoya.
A forensic review of his mobile phone led police to discover the existence of the group chat and evidence of shared content.
The police have confirmed that 10 people in the group shared indecent photos and videos. They are now investigating how the group was formed.
Japan has long faced criticism for the sexualisation of child models, many of whom are girls posed in lingerie or swimwear in ways designed to appear provocative.
In 2023, the East Asian country introduced its first national law against the nonconsensual capture of sexually exploitative images or videos. The legislation, aimed at curbing what is commonly referred to as 'photo voyeurism', outlawed actions like 'upskirting' and covert recordings of sexual activity.
Previously, such offences could only be prosecuted under individual prefectural laws, which varied widely in terms of scope and enforcement. The legislation, part of wider reforms to the country's sex crime statutes, including an expanded definition of rape, marked a significant shift.
The new provisions made it a criminal offence to take, share or possess images of another person's genitals without their permission. They also prohibited photographing individuals who had been unknowingly manipulated into sexually suggestive positions. Notably, the law banned the filming of children in sexually suggestive contexts without a legitimate reason.
Those found guilty under the new law could face up to three years in prison or fines of up to £17,500.
In 2021, Japanese police recorded over 5,000 arrests for illicit photography, the highest ever and nearly triple the number reported in 2010, according to the BBC.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
33 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Rayner claims Farage's Reform will ‘fail women' in online safety act row
Angela Rayner has warned Nigel Farage and Reform UK that their plan to scrap online safety laws could "fail a generation of young women" by removing protections against issues such as revenge porn. The Deputy Prime Minister demanded Mr Farage explain how his party would ensure young women's online safety, given Reform's vow to repeal the Online Safety Act. Her warning is the latest in a series of interventions by senior Labour figures regarding the Act. Under rules introduced in late July, the legislation requires online platforms, including social media and search engines, to prevent children from accessing harmful content like pornography or material encouraging suicide. Reform has vowed to repeal the law and replace it with a different means of protecting children online, though the party has not said how it would do this. Among their criticisms of the Act, Mr Farage and his colleagues have cited freedom of speech concerns and claimed the Act is an example of overreach by the Government. This prompted backlash from Technology Secretary Peter Kyle, who claimed people like Jimmy Savile would use the internet to exploit children if he was still alive, and insisted anyone against the Act – like Mr Farage – was 'on their side'. The Reform leader demanded an apology, but ministers have been trenchant in their defence of the Act. Now, the Deputy Prime Minister has questioned how Mr Farage would seek to prevent the 'devastating crime' of intimate image abuse, also known as 'revenge porn', without the Online Safety Act's protections. Ms Rayner claimed: 'Nigel Farage risks failing a generation of young women with his dangerous and irresponsible plans to scrap online safety laws. 'Scrapping safeguards and having no viable alternative plan in place to halt the floodgates of abuse that could open is an appalling dereliction of duty. It's time for Farage to tell women and girls across Britain how he would keep them safe online.' Under the Online Safety Act, revenge porn is classified among the 'most severe online offences', the Deputy PM added. Citing figures from the charity Refuge, the Labour Party claimed a million young women had been subject to revenge porn: either intimate images being shared, or the threat of this. Some 3.4 million adults in total, both men and women, have been affected, Labour also said. Ministers have previously had to defend the Online Safety Act against accusations from Elon Musk's X social media site that it is threatening free speech. In a post at the start of August titled 'What Happens When Oversight Becomes Overreach', the platform formerly known as Twitter outlined criticism of the act and the 'heavy-handed' UK regulators. The Government countered that it is 'demonstrably false' that the Online Safety Act compromises free speech and said it is not designed to censor political debate. Mr Farage has meanwhile suggested there is a 'tech answer' for protecting children online, but neither he nor the Government have outlined one. He also suggested children are too easily able to avoid new online age verification rules by using VPNs (virtual private networks), which allow them to circumvent the rules by masking their identity and location. When Reform UK was approached for comment, its Westminster councillor Laila Cunningham said: 'Women are more unsafe than ever before thanks to Labour. Starmer has released thousands of criminals back onto the streets early with no regard for women's safety. 'I am calling on Jess Phillips to debate me on women's safety – she ignored the grooming gangs scandal and now she's wilfully deceiving voters on this issue. 'Reform will always prioritise prosecuting abuse but will never let women's safety be hijacked to justify censorship. 'You don't protect women by silencing speech. You protect them by securing borders, enforcing the law, and locking up actual criminals, and that is exactly what a Reform government would do.'
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
Louisiana attorney general says gaming site Roblox fosters environment for child predators
This story has been updated with additional information. Louisiana is suing the popular children's video gaming site Roblox, alleging the company doesn't do enough to protect children from predators. "It created and perpetuated an online environment where child predators thrive," Republican Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said during a press conference in Livingston Parish. Roblox is wildly popular, especially among pre-teens, reporting more than 100 million daily users for the first time ever during the second quarter. It's stock has more than doubled this year and the company received its first investment-grade rating this week after S&P Global Ratings upgraded the firm. But Murrill alleged the company, which allows users to interact with one another: ∎ "Has and continues to facilitate the distribution of child sexual abuse material and the sexual exploitation of Louisiana's children. ∎ "Knowingly and intentionally fails to implement basic safety controls to protect child users from predators. ∎ Knowingly and intentionally fails to provide notice to parents and child users of its dangers." 'Due to Roblox's lack of safety protocols, it endangers the safety of the children of Louisiana," Murrill said in a statement. "Roblox is overrun with harmful content and child predators because it prioritizes user growth, revenue and profits over child safety. "Every parent should be aware of the clear and present danger poised to their children by Roblox so they can prevent the unthinkable from ever happening in their own home.' Murrill said the company's lack of safety measures make for easy access for predators to interact with children on the site. "Because there is no age minimum and requirement to verify age or parental permission once you sign-up, users can easily say they are younger or older than their actual age - allowing child predators to pose as children and for children to bypass any age requirement," Murrill said in the press release. Murrill displayed signs that read: "Roblox prioritizes profits over child safety." Murrill said she believes Louisiana is the first state to sue Roblox, but similar lawsuits have been lodged against the company by parents who accuse the company of not doing enough to safeguard children. Last week a Georgia mother and her 9-year-old son filed a lawsuit in DeKalb County, alleging Roblox is a "hunting ground for child-sex predators." In a statement to USA Today Network, a Roblox spokesperson said the company can't comment on pending legislation, but said, "The safety of our community is a top priority." "We can't comment on pending litigation," the spokesperson said in the statement. "But we dedicate substantial resources, including advanced technology and 24/7 human moderation, to help detect and prevent inappropriate content and behavior, including attempts to direct users off platform, where safety standards and moderation may be less stringent than ours. "While no system is perfect, Roblox has implemented rigorous technology and enforcement safeguards, including restrictions on sharing personal information, links, and user-to-user image sharing. The safety of our community is a top priority.' More: Here's what you need to know about Louisiana's new cell phone law Greg Hilburn covers state politics for the USA TODAY Network of Louisiana. Follow him on Twitter @GregHilburn1. This article originally appeared on Shreveport Times: Louisiana files lawsuit against Roblox amid online child safety concerns Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
15 hours ago
- Yahoo
Hiker Tried to Fight Off Bear Before Being Dragged into Forest, Friend Says. His Body Was Just Found
Police said the victim was walking a trail on Mount Rausu on Aug. 14 when the attack happened NEED TO KNOW A hiker was attacked by a brown bear on Aug. 14 while hiking Mount Rausu A friend witnessed the victim being dragged into a forest by the animal Authorities confirmed that the body of the victim was found on Aug. 15 on the mountain Officials in Japan said a body found on a mountain is that of a missing hiker who was attacked by a brown bear The incident involving the male hiker and the animal occurred on Thursday, Aug. 14, on Mount Rausu in the Japanese prefecture of Hokkaido, The Japan Times, The Japan News and NHK reported. Police said the victim was walking a trail on Mount Rausu on Thursday morning when the attack happened, according to the Agence France-Presse. The friend ran to help the victim and witnessed him trying to fight off the bear — before the animal dragged the victim into a forest, The Japan News and NHK reported. The friend, who was uninjured, reported the attack to police. They tried calling the victim's number but received no response. On the morning of Friday, Aug. 15, police and searchers came across a piece of a shirt that may have belonged to the victim near where the friend contacted authorities, according to NHK. A wallet linked to the victim was also discovered. Authorities said the victim was later found in the afternoon and taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead, the AFP reported. He has been identified as 26-year-old Sota Keisuke, according to NHK. An official also told the AFP that hunters captured and killed a bear near the trail. A DNA examination will be performed to determine whether that bear is connected to the victim's death. Following the attack, authorities closed the mountain trail, The Japan Times reported. Officials with the Hokkaido prefectural government said Thursday's incident was the first recorded bear attack in the Shiretoko Mountain Range, which includes Mount Rausu, in 63 years, according to The Japan News. According to figures unveiled earlier this month, there were 11,600 brown bears in Hokkaido at the end of 2023, a decline of 500 from the previous year, the AFP reported. Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. This latest incident comes nearly one month after a hunter in his 50s went missing also in Hokkaido — and just days after a brown bear was spotted in the area. A friend informed authorities that the hunter never returned from his outing on Mount Esan on July 15, The Guardian, Kyodo News and The Japan News reported. A gun believed to have belonged to the man was found near bloodstains, according to the reports. The disappearance came after a large brown bear was reported in the area on July 12. Read the original article on People Solve the daily Crossword
