Sex

Professors opt for strategically placed mirrors, and teachers prefer elaborate sandal and camera combinations. But in the murky world of upskirt peeking, policemen it seems favour James Bond-like camera equipped umbrellas. As over the weekend, 46-year-old sergeant Masafumi Endo was arrested for allegedly trying to film up a woman’s skirt with his ‘upgraded’ umbrella.

The enterprising Endo it turns out had attached a camera to the shaft of his umbrella, allowing him to approach his victim from behind and surreptitiously take pictures. But during questioning the sleazy sergeant admitted to the allegations, saying, “I did it for the first time. I’m sorry.”

Senior police official Eichi Onodera also expressed regret over the incident, stating, “We would like to express our apologies to the victim and the prefectural residents for the incident.” He also said that Endo was hardworking and had never caused any trouble before.

Or simply hadn’t been caught.

Earlier this week a junior high school teacher in Fukushima was arrested for performing indecent acts on a 15-year-old schoolgirl.

This incident in itself isn’t especially newsworthy, as such events aren’t exactly uncommon. Although the fact that the two had known each other for some time and were caught furthering their relationship in a car park makes something of a change. As generally it’s a clandestine meeting between two strangers in a hotel room, with money being exchanged at some point during the proceedings.

What makes this story ever so slightly interesting however is that the 36-year-old teacher has been hit with something of a double whammy. First of all he will be charged with performing indecent acts on a 15-year-old, but he is also being accused of breaking a Fukushima Government ordinance. One that is primarily aimed at “giving youth a wholesome upbringing.”

Now whether the teacher can convincingly claim he was unaware of the girl’s age remains to be seen, but as far as the ‘wholesome upbringing’ goes, he’s in an awful lot of trouble.

The term “sexless marriage” was first coined in Japan during the early 90’s, when therapists encountered a huge surge in the number of women admitting dissatisfaction with their love lives. And things obviously haven’t improved since then. A 2004 sex survey found that the average number of sexual encounters in 41 countries was 103 per year, with Japan coming last, mustering a measly 46.

But thankfully help is at hand (so to speak). Dr Kim Myong-gan, a Tokyo based sexologist, has introduced some radical new therapy to help his patients. Many of whom he claims are stuck in marriages that “have been sexless for 5, 10, or even 15 years.”

The ‘prescription’ for these women is a date with a member of the doctor’s ‘sex volunteer corps’. A team that boasts 40 members, all specially chosen for their looks, humour, and ability to listen.

These dates are said to consist of a nice meal and a few drinks, giving the patient some time to relax and explain her unfortunate marital situation. Then it’s discreetly off to a hotel for the necessary treatment.

Dr Kim claims that, “The problem among many Japanese men is that fairly soon after they get married, they begin to see their wives as their mothers, there to cook and clean for them. That makes it very hard to find them sexually attractive again.” Now how much truth there is in this is debatable, but the doctor’s somewhat unorthodox approach is obviously paying dividends. Every year around 200 women (mostly in their 40’s) are said to visit his clinic, with an initial two-hour interview costing 20,000 yen (100 pound).

After this, the women are given a book containing pictures and personal details of every sex corps member. All of whom Dr Kim says are not gigolos. He also denies earning money from anything that happens outside his clinic walls.

“Conditions are so bad, it’s fair to say that railway carriages are virtual groper incubators.”

Samu Yamamoto, author of Chikan no Hyakka (Encyclopedia of Groping).

Quotes like this, and a recent announcement by Tokyo’s largest train operator that it is begrudgingly considering women-only carriages, show how bad the situation has become. But there again, perhaps such information isn’t really necessary, as if it’s possible to produce an encyclopedia on the subject, then there must be an awful lot of it about.