(The first sentence of the fourth paragraph should have read, “…did not check her identification…,” instead of as sent. A substitute story follows.) Ex-Tokyo Massage Shop Owner Found Guilty of Exploiting Thai Girl Tokyo, Sept. 15 (Jiji Press)–A Japanese court on Tuesday sentenced a former owner of a Tokyo massage parlor to five years in prison and fined him 1 million yen for making a then 12-year-old Thai girl provide sexual services in violation of laws including the child welfare law. Tokyo District Court found Masayuki Hosono, 52, guilty of having the girl provide sexual services to male customers between June and August last year without confirming her age in conspiracy with the parlor’s former manager, a 39-year-old Thai woman who has already been indicted on similar charges. Judge Hiroshi Ikegami said that Hosono created a chaotic working environment, dismissing the defense’s argument that he should be acquitted because he did not know the girl was a minor. The judge said the girl’s mother told him that she was her 20-year-old sister but that he did not check her identification at all. It cannot be said that Hosono has done enough to check her age, the judge said. In addition, the judge said that the girl was instructed to work in Japan to repay her mother’s debt and came to Japan unable to refuse because of violence she faced. “We can’t imagine the psychological damage caused by not only being continuously asked to engage in sexual acts in a place where she has no relatives, but also being forced to serve the defendant himself under the guise of training,” the judge said. Prosecutors had demanded that Hosono be sentenced to six years in prison and fined 2 million yen. The case also led to charges of human trafficking and other offenses against the girl’s mother in Thailand. She was sentenced to seven years and six months in prison. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
