Groping

Deputy director of Tokyo University arrested for groping

Saturday, February 17, 2007 at 08:04 EST
TOKYO — A deputy director of Tokyo University was arrested for groping on a train earlier this week, police said Friday. Keiji Takehara, 53, allegedly touched the thighs of a 24-year-old woman who sat next to him on the JR Keihin Tohoku line from Hamamatsucho to Akihabara, police said.

The woman grabbed Takehara and dragged him off the train at Akihabara where station staff held onto him until police arrived. "I'm sorry for causing so much trouble," Takehara was quoted as saying. Takehara, who was released on bail, joined Tokyo University in 2004 as a career advisor after he left Recruit where he was a board member.

Upon his arrest he said, "I fell asleep on the train, and when I woke up, my hands were touching her."