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Japan's 'Kowtow King' molests one woman too many
By Ryann Connell
November 24, 2004
An elite businessman cops disparagingly referred to as the "kowtow King"
because of a propensity to prostrate himself to the ground and blurt out
profuse apologies finally looks like getting his comeuppance after molesting an
Osaka female commuter and being arrested for the fifth time, according to
Shukan Post.
Arrested for breaking an Osaka Prefectural Government ordinance outlawing
public nuisances was Ryuji Kusumoto, an elite department manager with the
trading company Tomen Corp. He is accused of fondling the buttocks of a
29-year-old woman riding the JR Tokaido Line.
Incredibly, Kusumoto's arrest for molesting a train passenger was his fifth.
His four earlier arrests had all resulted in convictions, but were hushed up
after he paid fines or got off with a suspended sentence.
While most Japanese busted for groping would soon be axed, Kusumoto kept his
job at the posh trading company throughout all his battles with the law.
"The company had absolutely no idea that Kusumoto had been committing all these
crimes," a Tomen spokesman tells Shukan Post. "He didn't have a standout
record, but there'd never been any problems with sexual harassment, either."
"Actually, (Kusumoto) was fairly famous among the police. We called him the
'Kowtow King.' Whenever he was caught fondling somebody, he'd throw himself to
the ground and, bawling his eyes out, beg for mercy, saying, 'I'm having a
tough time at work and I thought (the victim) was my wife. I'm sorry,'" a
police investigation insider tells Shukan Post. "His convincing show of remorse
would induce empathy from his victims and cops would feel pressured and
encourage the women to treat him lightly. When (Kusumoto) was being
investigated by the police, he would just take a sick day to keep his company
off the scent. With the victims having basically forgiven Kusumoto, it was hard
for the cops to make public the crimes. That's why nobody ever told the
company."
It seems likely that Kusumoto has not been the only beneficiary of such police
consideration for perpetrator's rights.
"Even after the fifth arrest, the police still did not contact Tomen. There are
privacy issues involved here," a spokesman for the Osaka Prefectural Police
says. "Tomen have apparently contacted us to confirm the details of the case
and we told them nothing more that an arrest has been made. (Kusumoto) is still
only a suspect at this stage, so we will not comment on any further details in
the case."
Kusumoto's highjinks may have got him out of severe trouble following his
earlier arrests, but they led to his downfall fifth time around.
"Actually, the victim this time was a woman who'd seen Kusumoto's groveling
kowtows when he'd been picked up once before. She had no time for his bowing
and apologizing and instead went straight to the cops and demanded he be
punished severely," the cop insider tells Shukan Post. "The cops finally
realized this guy is a habitual criminal and decided to tip off the media about
him."
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Copyright 1999-2004, Mainchi Daily. All rights reserved. Ryann
Connell is a Staff Writer and Senoir Desk Editor for the Mainchi Daily News. No
content may be reproduced in whole or part without written permission.
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