Hi y’all, a friend of mine (foreigner but speaks perfect Japanese) is doing her graduate degree in Kyoto at Kyōto Geijutsu Daigaku, I learned recently that she tried to report a chikan incident that happened to her on the bus to local police and they said it’s out of their jurisdiction. School did not offer help either.
From what I was told, she was in a two-seat on a nearly empty bus at night, a 50-something-looking man came on, and despite all the available seats around them, chose to sit down next to her. And didn’t take long before he whipped out his wiener and started pleasuring himself. My friend yelled out at him and he fled the bus before the door closed. She went to the school first but they told her to report to the police, so she went to the police, and was then told that this was out of their jurisdiction and told them to call 110, who then told them they need to contact the police koban again. She phoned them and explained and they again told her it’s out of their control… No one had tried to help, full stop. What can she do next???
GALS IN KYOTO AND TAKE BUS 5 AROUND JINGU-MICHI BE AWARE!!
THANK EVERYONE WHO HAVE SO FAR RESPONDED!!
UPDATES: sorry there has been lots of updates and sometimes it’s conflicting because I am also getting story in different pieces. I also wrote this in a haste because I was angry and worried for her. I will try my best to resummarize the details.
1. Regarding cctv footage: my friend actually obtained footage from a building opposite the bus stop of the perpetrator fleeing the bus, but everything is super blurry to the point it’s impossible to identify the perpetrator’s face. And so it turns out that the footage, since it’s not from within the bus, does not catch the perv “in action”.
Friend also asked the police to fill out a crime report—the police OUTRIGHT REFUSED her. Their actual word was something to the effect of “no penis, no crime.” She did not see clearly the perpetrator’s penis because it all happened very fast, she saw the motion only and based on this fact alone the police are refusing to establish a case. THEIR INTERACTION WITH THE POLICE IS RECORDED IN AUDIO. I also have a copy.
She has produced her own sketch of the perp (she’s an oil painting major). She technically has seen him twice. The second time when she was back at the bus stop the next day and the perp was there. They recognized each other and he fled the bus stop at Jingu-michi. So she remembers the guy’s masked face very well. He is in/around his FIFTIES, has BALDING HAIR. I cannot post the picture here unfortunately.
We are thinking of ways to escalate the issue in the media (friend is trilingual in Chinese, Japanese, and English) since the police continue to refuse to help. We appreciate any tips or help!
by lonesome_squid