On the morning of December 26, Masanari Doto, of no known occupation, used a bicycle to approach a woman, aged in her 20s, as she walked in the opposite direction on a road in the Shimane area of the ward and spit on her head and right hand.
Doto, who has been accused of assault, admits to the allegations, according to the Nishiarai Police Station. “Additionally, I’ve carried a coffee can containing my own urine and splashed women and children,” the suspect was quoted by police.
Doto became a person of interest for police after he was seen pedaling a bicycle near the crime scene in security camera footage.
The suspect estimates that he has committed the same crime about 50 times in Adachi and Suginami wards since January of 2012. “I have a complex toward women,” he said. “I wanted them to turn around.”
In some cases, he touched the bodies of the victims and kissed them, police said.
Since May of last year, the police station has received 14 reports by women who said they have been spit on or splashed with urine.
On 14 October, the Minister in charge of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games, Yoshitaka Sakurada was questioned by opposition party members in the Japanese Diet. In one particular exchange with Constitutional Democratic Party member Masato Imai he made a surprising revelation. (soranews24.com) 
A Japanese high court on Wednesday overturned a lower court decision and acquitted a tattooist for operating without a medical license, ruling the process is not a medical practice. (Kyodo) 
Between 260,000 and 340,000 foreign workers are estimated to flow into Japan in the five years from next April through an envisioned immigration control law revision aimed at dealing with the country's serious labor crunch, government sources said Tuesday. (Japan Today) 
Public broadcaster NHK announced Wednesday the lineup for its annual New Year’s Eve music extravaganza, but K-pop group BTS — under fire recently for a controversial T-shirt worn by one of its members — was not included. (Japan Times) 
Japan's economy contracted for the first time in 2 quarters. Government officials say a string of natural disasters in the period dented exports and consumer spending.
(NHK) 
SoftBank Group Corp. is continuing to push money into one of its biggest investments: WeWork Cos. (Japan Times) 
Japan will help countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations groom 80,000 manufacturing and digital industry specialists over five years, part of a broader effort by Tokyo toward cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region.
(Nikkei) 
Japan's government has projected up to 47,000 foreign workers could come to the country in fiscal 2019 under proposed revisions to the immigration law.
(NHK) 
The dark side lurking within the Kabukicho red-light district of Shinjuku Ward — today, something like a mix of a theme park and a strip club — can easily get lost amid its blinking lights and the roar of Godzilla. (tokyoreporter.com) 
Health officials in Japan say nearly 2,000 people have contracted rubella, or German measles, this year.
(NHK)