Anime music composer Yuya Saito has found himself in trouble, as he has been arrested for attempting to take illicit photos of a junior high school girl on a train station platform, therefore violating the new voyeurism laws that came into effect in July 2023 as part of a reform of Japan’s Penal Code.
The incident took place on the morning of Oct 16, 2023, at JR Akabane Station in Tokyo’s Kita Ward.
According to the investigators, the composer was suspected of attempting to discreetly film up the skirts of of a junior high school girl using a mobile camera, which was hidden in the pocket of his tote bag.
The illicit act did not go unnoticed, as police officers from the Metropolitan Police Department witnessed Mr. Saito’s actions and promptly arrested him at the scene.
During questioning, Saito has admitted to the allegations, stating, “I wanted to relieve stress. I took the train to take illicit photos”.
Yuya Saito has composed music for various anime series including Shugo Chara!, Kotoura-san, CLAYMORE, KanColle, and others.
Saito’s arrest comes an year after another anime music composer, Hidekazu Tanaka, was arrested for on suspicion of sexual assault of a teenage girl. Tanaka’s works, especially the second opening of Uzaki Chan anime and the opening of Pokemon Ultimate Journeys anime were halted.
Fans, who were shocked to find out what Saito did, are wondering if his works too will face a similar situation as that of Tanaka’s in the future.
Some of the fan comments can be read below:
- The incident with Saito Yuya makes me think of Hidekazu Tanaka… Both of them have songs I like. What are they doing?
- When I searched, it’s painful that they worked on songs for so-called girls’ anime like ‘Pretty Cure’, ‘Shugo Chara!’, ‘Kirarin Revolution’, ‘Lilpri’, and others. Personally, even the songs from ‘Tenchi Muyo! War on Geminar’ are hard to bear. But seriously, both Hidekazu Tanaka and this person should think about their responsibility toward the works they’ve been a part of.
- What, Saito Yuya got arrested for filming junior high school students? I thought he was a fairly decent person…
- Is it that Saito Yuya? I thought, and yes, it turned out to be the same Saito Yuya… He was the person who composed quite a few eroge songs that I liked.
Source: TBS News, blog.esuteru
