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An elected representative to the city of Narita in Chiba Prefecture was accused of sexually assaulting a minor. Now, he faces a second accusation of trying to silence the victim’s family.
Warning: The following story contains descriptions of sexual assault against minors.
Multiple accusations
The accused is 55-year-old Hoshino Shintaro, who holds a seat in Narita’s city council. He also runs his own “manga library” that he opened in 2020.
Authorities say that’s where the trouble started. An elementary school-age girl reported that Hoshino hugged her and kissed her on the cheek.
For his part, Hoshino tried to pass the accusations off as a “misunderstanding” and told authorities they were innocent. However, it soon came out that he’s also acted inappropriately towards other kids, including telling one girl via phone that he’d “massage her buttocks” for her.
Hoshino reportedly assaulted the original victim at his manga library when she came with other school-age friends. He’s also reportedly met her outside of the library to boot.
The assaults reportedly occurred between November and December. The incident came to light when the girl consulted her school about Hoshino’s actions in January of this year. Prosecutors arrested and charged him in June.
According to a report by Chiba Nippo, besides the “manga library”, Hoshino also ran a kids’ cafeteria (子ども食堂; kodomo shokudou), a volunteer effort where kids in need can get a free meal. In other words, he seemed to engage in a lot of activities that kept him around children.
“It caused me mental anguish”
Now, Hoshino finds himself in ever hotter water after the family turned over a letter he sent them in March.
In the three-page letter printed on A4 paper that he mailed to the victim’s mother, he says the “mistaken” charges have caused him “mental anguish” and that he’s demanding 1 million yen (appr. USD $6,900) in damages.
“If you tell the school there’s no truth to this and stop this action against me, there won’t be a lawsuit,” he threatened in the letter. He also told the mom to deposit the money into his account within seven days.
Fortunately, the mom did no such thing and reported the threats to the police. As a result, on July 7th, police sent an additional set of charges to the prosecutor’s office, requesting that they also charge Hoshino with attempted extortion.
Sexual assault is chronically underreported in Japan
Officially, sexual assaults on women in Japan are low. However, many women’s rights advocates argue that sexual assault goes underreported by a large margin. A 2019 survey by #WeTooJapan found that over 80% of groping assaults in public (e.g., in subway trains) may be unreported.
Sexual assault cases are also hard to prosecute in a country where 99.9% of cases brought by prosecutors end in conviction. In one infamous case, a father was cleared of charges that he raped his 12-year-old daughter when the court flat-out refused to believe the victim.
What to read next
Japan to Schools: Don’t Dock Attendance for Groping Victims
Sources
【速報】成田市議を逮捕 女児に抱きつきキス疑い 自身が運営する「まんが図書館」内で犯行か 「お尻もんであげる」電話も. Chiba Nippo
【速報】女児わいせつ逮捕の成田市議、被害者の母親に１００万円要求か 「精神的苦痛を被った」 強要未遂疑いで追送検. Chiba Nippo
女児にキスした市議、「誤解で精神的苦痛」と母親に１００万円請求か. Yomiuri Shimbun
強制わいせつ容疑で逮捕された星野慎太郎・成田市議、どんな人物？ 多彩な子ども施策に注力 自身運営の「まんが図書館」「子ども食堂」とは. Chiba Nippo
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