Kids Turning Into Voyeurs: A Growing Shock in Japan

Japan has long struggled with the problem of upskirting, but a new twist is making headlines: children themselves are now taking part in the crime.
A six‑year‑old girl, later known only as Ayaka, was secretly filmed by her swimming teacher—an individual who had been preying on children for more than ten years. The pictures were shared in a Telegram group where other offenders called him “god.” It was only when police discovered the images that Ayaka’s father, Suzuki, learned his daughter had been targeted.

The incident is not isolated.
Despite warnings in train stations and mandatory shutter sounds on smartphones, Japan’s most common sex offence remains voyeurism. In 2025 alone, police arrested over 9,000 people for such crimes – the highest ever recorded. The new law introduced in 2023 broadened the definition of photo voyeurism, which has helped authorities catch more offenders but also made the offence easier to commit with ubiquitous phones.

What is most alarming is the rise of minors as perpetrators.
Police data shows that cases involving children jumped almost six times in 2024 and continued to climb into 2025. Experts say school environments are now a breeding ground for such behaviour, with classmates sometimes photographing each other without consent. Social media channels like Telegram and Discord are used to share “teasers” of child sexual abuse material, sometimes for a few dollars.

The trend can be traced to early exposure to digital devices and a lack of ethical or digital‑literacy education.
One psychologist who treats voyeurism offenders reports that he now sees many students, some as young as thirteen, in his clinic. The legal framework struggles to keep up: child pornography laws only apply when genitalia are visible, leaving gaps that can result in lighter penalties.

A young man named Kimura, now nineteen, confided that his interest started at fifteen with staged pornographic content. By seventeen he had targeted a girl on a train platform, and over the next year he victimised about thirty people. He only stopped when police caught him stealing underwear from a clothesline. After mandatory re‑education, he now regrets his actions and vows never to repeat them.

Ayaka’s teacher received a four‑year sentence, half of which has already been served. Her father worries that the crime may be occurring in places society thinks are safe, and he fears the lasting digital damage to his daughter’s life.

“We must protect our children,” he says, underscoring the urgent need for stronger safeguards and education.