A Tokyo court has sentenced former massage parlour owner Masayuki Hosono to five years in prison for making a 12-year-old Thai girl provide sexual services to customers.

Hosono, 52, was also fined 1 million yen by Tokyo District Court on Tuesday, September 15. The offences took place between June and August last year.

Court rejects claim he did not know her age

The court found Hosono guilty of violating laws including Japan's child welfare law. It said he conspired with the parlour's former manager, a 39-year-old Thai woman who has already been indicted on similar charges.

Judge Hiroshi Ikegami rejected the defence argument that Hosono should be acquitted because he did not know the girl was underage.

The girl's mother had told Hosono that the child was her 20-year-old sister, the judge said. But Hosono did not check any identification documents.

"It cannot be said that Hosono has done enough to check her age," Judge Ikegami said, adding that the defendant had created a chaotic working environment.

Girl was sent to Japan over mother's debt

The court heard that the girl had been instructed to work in Japan to repay her mother's debt. She arrived in the country after experiencing violence and was unable to refuse, the judge said.

"We can't imagine the psychological damage caused by not only being continuously asked to engage in sexual acts in a place where she has no relatives, but also being forced to serve the defendant himself under the guise of training," Judge Ikegami said.

Prosecutors had sought a six-year prison term and a 2 million yen fine for Hosono.

The case also resulted in human trafficking and other charges against the girl's mother in Thailand. She was sentenced to seven years and six months in prison.

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17 September 2026

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It's a shame - yes, a shame - Japan only uses the death penalty for some (mostly aggravated or multiple) murders and treasonous acts against the nation, otherwise both the mother and this pile of human waste should hang.
Seems she may have been trafficked from here. How about an extradition to a Thai prison for Hirono?
The mother? She can be fed to pigs as far as I'm concerened.

5 minutes ago, The Oracle said:

How about an extradition to a Thai prison for Hirono

How about the fact that the Japanese national has not committed any offences in Thailand, never mind been indicted for anything here but he has in Japan where he's been tried, convicted and incarcerated?

Edited 5 hours ago5 hr by Liverpool Lou

11 minutes ago, Liverpool Lou said:

How about the fact that the Japanese national has not committed any offences in Thailand, never mind been indicted for anything here but he has in Japan where he's been tried, convicted and incarcerated?

IF he was involved in her trafficking, obviously.