Tokyo police re-arrested a 65-year-old dance teacher accused of hiding a small camera in a girls' toilet at the Adachi dance school where he taught, on suspicion of filming a child's lower body.
The Metropolitan Police Department took Hiroyuki Sakuma back into custody on November 5 on suspicion of violating the law punishing sexual acts, among other charges. He had already been arrested last month on suspicion of the same offense in an attempted form, and was held again before his detention period expired.
Sakuma was known internationally as a dancer under the name Hiro, and has choreographed for a national idol group. He taught classes at the school that ran from young children's sessions to adult lessons, and pupils from elementary school age to university took part in his classes, people connected to the school said.
How the camera was found
In early October, a girl attending the school found what looked like a small camera in the toilet and told her parent. The next day the camera was gone from the same spot. Later another girl found a camera in the same place, and this time a parent took it away and consulted school staff, leading to the arrest.
Sakuma first told police he had simply left equipment in the toilet. He denied the charges at first, then admitted part of them, saying the target had not been children alone.
“There's no mistake, but I was aiming at adult women. I didn't mean to go only for small children.”Hiroyuki Sakuma, in statements to police
He also said his classes contained many elementary school pupils, telling police he did not target them exclusively but that they were among those in range.
The camera was small and was set in something like a toilet-paper holder, covered with styrofoam and a hand towel to keep it hidden. Footage on the device showed Sakuma adjusting the angle, and police believe he set the camera before his lessons began and retrieved it afterwards.