Fukuoka station deploys mirror to fight rising voyeurism in Japan

The mirror, affixed beside an escalator at the Nishitetsu Fukuoka (Tenjin) station, enables commuters to spot voyeurs or those taking upskirt photos

Authorities in the Japanese city of Fukuoka have installed an “anti-voyeurism” mirror in a subway station in a bid to stop the rising number of cases in the bustling Tenjin entertainment area.

The mirror, affixed beside an escalator at the Nishitetsu Fukuoka (Tenjin) station, has a wide field of view to enable commuters to spot voyeurs or those taking upskirt photos, according to the online News on Japan. It was donated by the We Love Tenjin Council, a community group made up of local businesses.

“Unfortunately, voyeurism is still happening daily. We hope this mirror will help reduce the number of victims and allow people to use the station with peace of mind,” Stationmaster Akiko Yamaguchi told Nippon TV on Wednesday.

There were 110 reported cases of voyeurism in Fukuoka prefecture from January to the end of June – 10 more than in the same period last year, police told the national broadcaster. Escalators or staircases were the voyeurs’ favourite hunting grounds.

Voyeurism is on the rise in Japan, according to a February report in the Asahi newspaper, which cited police statistics showing that cases of voyeuristic, non-consensual filming more than tripled last year compared to 2023.

A 43-year-old Tokyo firefighter was arrested for filming a woman at a railway station in Chiba prefecture, the Tokyo Reporter news website reported on Friday.

Tatsunori Saika, a firefighter at the Kanamachi Fire Station, allegedly hid his smartphone in a business bag to take tosatsu (voyeur) videos up a woman’s skirt on an escalator at Abiko Station at about 9.40pm on July 16.

His victim noticed him behaving suspiciously and screamed. A nearby station employee then arrested Saika, who later admitted the charges, saying: “I saw a woman wearing a short skirt on the train and I really wanted to see her underwear.”

Another public servant stood trial on Friday for taking upskirt photos of women in their teens and twenties in Sapporo and Kushiro, Hokkaido, between August 2023 and May this year, Kyodo news agency reported.

Former Hokkaido police officer Shunsuke Chiba, 24, was arrested in February for breaking into a women’s changing room in a hotel in Tomioka, Fukushima, to take photos. While out on bail, he was caught again on May 12 for trying to film up the skirts of two high school girls at a shopping centre in Kushiro. Upon his arrest, he told police: “I wanted to see a woman’s underwear.”

Late last month, two primary school teachers were charged with taking photos of young girls in their underwear and sharing the images with at least 10 more colleagues.

Yuji Moriyama, 42, and Fumiya Kosemura, 37, admitted secretly filming and taking upskirt photographs of young girls at various places, prompting parents to pull their children out of the schools the men had taught in.

“Until I know it’s safe, I honestly don’t want to send her. She’s at an age when a wound like this leaves deep scars,” a mother of a fifth grader told the Chunichi newspaper.

Unhandled type: inline-plus-widget {“type”:”inline-plus-widget”}