Former lawmaker arrested for alleged sexual assault in Tokyo karaoke bar

The Metropolitan Police Department has arrested Tamotsu Shiiki, a former Nippon Ishin no Kai lower house member, on suspicion of sexually harassing an elementary school student at a karaoke bar.

Shiiki, from Urayasu City, Chiba Prefecture, denied the accusation, saying, “We went to the karaoke room together, but there was no sexual intercourse.”

The alleged incident occurred on the evening of August 20 in a karaoke bar in Tokyo's Kabukicho entertainment district. The 58-year-old former lawmaker is accused of sexually harassing the first-grader at the middle school.

According to police, the girl explained that Shiiki approached her on the streets of Kabukicho and they went to the karaoke bar together. The two probably did not know each other before this incident.