Overview

• Tokyo’s Metropolitan Police determined the Machida station chief’s April remarks toward female subordinates constituted sexual harassment and issued a Commissioner-General warning on August 7.
• Former chief Eguchi Hiroyuki resigned effective August 18 after comments about “bride training,” cooking, and birthrates, as well as remarks on women’s appearance, were documented.
• The Machida probe followed an anonymous internal tip, and Eguchi acknowledged the statements and apologized, according to the department.
• In Fukuoka, prefectural police on August 20 arrested traffic section chief Shimokawa Yoichi, 52, on suspicion of committing non-consensual indecent acts against a junior officer in a car on May 3; he denies the allegation.
• Investigators searched locations linked to the Fukuoka suspect and seized his smartphone and a private car’s drive recorder, and the criminal inquiry is ongoing.