Tokyo police have rearrested an unemployed 39-year-old man from Toshima Ward on suspicion of assault after he allegedly slapped a woman walking home, the Metropolitan Police Department said. The department has not disclosed whether he admits or denies the allegation.
According to the department, the man is suspected of slapping the left cheek of a woman in her 20s as he passed her on a sidewalk in Jimbocho, Chiyoda Ward, shortly after 9 p.m. on October 17. The woman is a university student.
Investigators believe seven women in their teens and 20s, including the woman in the rearrest case, were assaulted over about 15 minutes from around 9 p.m. that day. The finding rests on security camera footage and reports from victims, the department said.
Police suspect the man kicked women from behind and punched others in the stomach as he passed them. They are examining the circumstances in detail.
The man had already been arrested on suspicion of assault for allegedly punching another woman in the left arm on October 18, the following day.