22-05-2025
Japan Post worker arrested after allegedly phoning woman via number on package
TOKYO -- A Japan Post Co. employee was arrested May 21 after allegedly using personal information from a shipping label on a package to call a woman and tell her he was spying on her.
Yoichi Nose, a 39-year-old resident of Tokyo's Ota Ward, was arrested by the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD)'s Kamata Police Station on suspicion of attempted coercion and violating the Postal Act. He is specifically accused of accessing the mobile phone number of a woman in her 20s written on the shipping label on a Letter Pack envelope while on delivery duty between Jan. 28 and 29, when he was working at Kamata Post Office in Ota Ward. He then allegedly called the woman on Jan. 31, saying things like, "I'm secretly filming your apartment," and, "Can I upload a video of you changing clothes on YouTube?" He also reportedly told her, "If you want me to stop, how about we meet at Kamata Station?"
Investigative sources say the package was addressed to an airline company, where the woman was recently hired.
According to the MPD, there was no prior relationship between Nose and the woman. He reportedly admitted to the charges, telling police, "I would have called any woman. I just wanted a reason to talk." Nose also ended the call without conveying a detailed meeting location, and reportedly told investigators, "Saying things to a woman one-sidedly got me excited."
Police believe that Nose took photos on his smartphone of postal items addressed to or sent by women that showed their phone numbers and then calling them over the past four or five years. Around 100 pictures of such items, apparently taken since July 2023, were found on his confiscated smartphone.
In response to inquiries, Japan Post told the Mainichi Shimbun, "We are still in the process of confirming the facts, so we will refrain from issuing any comments. We will cooperate with the investigation and take strict measures if the allegations are confirmed."
