A senior official of a nonprofit organization that helps young women obsessed with host clubs and teen runaways in Tokyo¡¯s Kabukicho district has been arrested for cocaine possession.
Yoshihide Tanaka, 44, was arrested on Sunday with a woman in her 20s who is believed to have sought help from the group.
Tanaka, who serves as secretary-general of Nippon Kakekomidera, was arrested on the streets of Shinjuku Ward when police officers questioned him and the woman. The officers found the drugs when they checked his belongings.
Tanaka has reportedly admitted to the charges, saying it was for his own use.
When Nippon Kakekomidera¡¯s leader, Hidemori Gen, met him on Monday evening together with a lawyer after his arrest, Tanaka also admitted to using cocaine, the group said. It said a urine sample provided by Tanaka tested positive for illegal drugs.
The group strongly condemns Tanaka¡¯s actions, saying he took advantage of his position and used cocaine with someone he should have been helping.
¡°I never imagined he, of all people, would possess or use drugs,¡± Gen said in a statement. ¡°I was stunned with deep anger and a sense of betrayal.¡±
Gen also apologized over Tanaka¡¯s misconduct, saying he initially thought it was all due to a misunderstanding.
¡°Even if he had drugs in his possession, I assumed maybe he had confiscated them from someone seeking help and was trying to persuade them out of a sense of justice,¡± he said.
Tanaka apologized to Gen during their meeting, during which he conveyed his intention to leave the group.
Since its founding in 2011, Nippon Kakekomidera has been providing support to women and children experiencing a range of issues such as domestic violence, poverty, and drug problems, according to its website.
In recent years, it has also been involved in supporting young people who have run away from home and started living in the Kabukicho district, who are referred to as Toyoko Kids.
It has also advocated against malicious host clubs that exploit women by trapping them in debt, then pushing them into prostitution to pay it off.
Tanaka used to be a freelance writer who conducted interviews with Nippon Kakekomidera. He ended up joining the organization in 2021.
A mother who frequently consulted the group about her daughter¡¯s addiction to host clubs and asked to remain anonymous for privacy reasons, expressed her shock at the news.
¡°It is just out of the blue and I have no words because I am too shocked,¡± she said.
She said that she will wait for further information about the case, adding that she does not wish for Gen¡¯s activities at the group to be affected by Tanaka¡¯s arrest.
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