Police in Sapporo have arrested a 65-year-old driving instructor on suspicion of allegedly sexually molesting a woman in her 20s while she was taking a driving lesson.
According to police, the incident occurred at around 2:30 p.m. on Aug 14, Hokkaido Broadcasting Corp reported. During the lesson at the driving school’s course in Toyohira Ward, the instructor, Shinji Tanaka, asked the woman to stop and then allegedly groped her upper body.
The woman filed a complaint with police the next day.
Police said Tanaka, who was arrested on Friday, has partially denied the allegation. He was quoted as saying he didn’t indecently touch the woman but just gave her shoulders a massage because she looked stressed.
© Japan Today
37 Comments
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virusrex
Hopefully the cars have cameras recording the inside of the car. Even if the instructor turned them off that would be quite incriminating.
BigP
The old driving instructor trick! Surely, there is a camera recording the inside of the vehicle.
Jay
Ah yes, one straight out of the *Japanese Criminal Interrogation Defense Handbook**, *along side:
"I was drunk and don't remember a thing"
"I was stressed out due to overwork"
"I was unable to control my desires."
Pick an excuse, any excuse!
sakurasuki
Is that part of lesson in handling stress while driving?
Chico3
The car turned all of a sudden, and my hands landed on her (you pick the part of the body).
falseflagsteve
Massaged her shoulder and he thought that appropriate, must be bleeding bonkers.
65 years of age too, 65! Can you believe it.
Too many heinous crimes happening in Sapporo recently. I am heading there in a few weeks with my partner and my son, I hope no fiend bothers them or he will suffer the thrashing of his life.
sakurasuki
He just want to have something memorable before his retirement.
falseflagsteve
Sakura
Shame for him that the start of his retirement will be within the dark walls of a ghastly Japanese prison which will offer no chances for him to practise his massaging hobby on unwitting ladies.
sakurasuki
It's likely will be suspended sentence for him
falseflagsteve
Sakura
Ah yes, the favoured suspended sentence that is applied on a regular basis. From what I understand this is because the shame of the conviction is an apt punishment for the convicted person. In Japan of course shame is a big thing, that can ruin any future employment opportunities. Though at this chaps advanced age, I doubt their are many other options for him, unless he wishes to work in a supermarket or something.
Mark
Sapporo Again??
Mark
I have heard about students encounter with driving schools instructors , and how some students purposly dress in away to get the instructors attention the get a PASS stamp.
Ricky Kaminski13
You’ve got to be joking. Are these old creeps just waiting for the perfect victim who they think fits the profile of someone who would just freeze, let it happen and then never say a word? An almost unthinkable lack of judgment and morality in one perfect idiot storm ! On the job and all.
Redemption
Disgusting.
Elvis is here
That's quite weird. As if she wants a shoulder massage from a stranger in a car?
In general, it seems the older male generation have some sort of self-entitlement thing going on.
deanzaZZR
Old Creep apparently wanted to save some money on a late night trip to Susukino.
WA4TKG
Congratulations, it fessed up to it, and DIDN'T say he was Drunk !
There IS hope for Japan after all.
Lindsay
even if he was just giving her a shoulder massage it is still inappropriate behavior and you can bet it’s not the first time this old creep has copped a feel.
TokyoLiving
Again, groping a woman in national headlines...
Another proof that Japan is one of the safest countries in the world !!!!!!!!!!....
Like it or not...
I love you Japan, please never change...
shogun36
haha, one too many JAV there, partnah
opheliajadefeldt
Most sexual crimes like this would not even make the papers in most countries, I am not sure if this is because they are rare or just deemed unimportant, I think the latter. I sometimes read the local news from a city close to me, Oxford, in the UK, and it is unusual to see crimes like these. The vast majority are for car theft, burglary, and domestic violence and shop lifting. I am glad this creep is caught, but I bet it is not his first time.
kohakuebisu
Not what I wanted to read this morning. Our eldest is away at driving school at the moment. She's eighteen.
Bob
He is old enough to know better, which could mean there could be more to this story still to come. He hasn’t been prosecuted yet.
He may well have just felt sorry for the tired passenger. In contrast, women have to be careful what they wear so as to not distract other drivers.
garypen
Why would one assume there are cameras in driving school cars? The likelihood is that there isn't. There certainly weren't in the various vehicles I and my wife used to prepare for our tests to convert our licenses. And, I would have been surprised to see one, if there was.
A driving school instructor has no authority to pass or fail anyone. He merely teaches students how to pass the behind-the-wheel test. (Or written exam, during classroom lessons.)
A prefectural police examiner is the one who passes or fails applicants during their behind-the-wheel test(s).
Jonathan Prin
He must have been doing this many times before. ..Women raise your voice so that such perv stop forever.
All my Japanese family women and friends I could ask have not been sexually assaulted. So no this not so common as one would think (Chuubu or Yokohama area)
smithinjapan
Ummm... even if he "only" gave her a massage during the lesson to "reduce her stress", it is highly inappropriate.
konjo4u
Was he drinking?
sir_bentley28
What a stupid! So he wants us to believe the sceniro went like :
Stop the car! Lemmie give you a "signature" shoulder massage!
garypen
I'll bet 100yen he had a little something during his lunch break.
Zaphod
Well, the "massage" story does not sound very convincing. She paid for a driving lesson, not a massage...
gcFd1
And why not?
virusrex
Because unsolicited massages are not appropriate, much less from a 65yo man to a woman in her 20s and definitely not during a driving lesson.