Tokyo Sergeant Dismissed After Taking Photos of Women’s Naked Dead Bodies, Had Also Taken Illicit Photos at Stations

Yomiuri Shimbun file photo
The headquarters of the Metropolitan Police Department in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo

The Metropolitan Police Department on Friday dismissed a male officer after discovering that he had privately photographed naked dead bodies of women.

The bodies were being investigated as unnatural deaths by the MPD, and the 52-year-old former officer, who was stationed at the Ayase police station in Adachi Ward, Tokyo, had kept the photographs at his home.

According to MPD sources, the sergeant allegedly took photos of about 20 bodies with his smartphone, taking home about 500 images between 2009 and 2022. He had inspected the bodies at morgues in Akabane, Joto and Fuchu police stations, where he was in charge of forensics.

He was arrested in September last year on suspicion of taking illicit photographs at a train station in Saitama Prefecture. The images of the bodies were discovered during an investigation following that incident. The images were not confirmed to have been placed anywhere outside his home, the sources said.

According to the sources, the sergeant was also allegedly found to have filmed up women’s skirts at stations in Saitama and Tokyo five times since December 2022.

The allegations against him were referred to prosecutors.