A 35-year-old corporate executive who has given public lectures on how to protect children from sexual abuse has been arrested for allegedly being sexually involved with a 15-year-old girl, police said Thursday.
Takayuki Hirakawa, a resident of Saitama, has admitted to the allegation, the police said, quoting him as saying: "I knew she was 15. I have committed similar acts before."
The police alleged that Hirakawa performed an indecent act on the third-year junior high school student on Sept. 4 in a hotel in Nerima Ward in Tokyo in violation of the child prostitution and child pornography law, adding the two got to know each other through Twitter the day before.
He had promised to pay her ¥40,000 (around $386) in return. The girl called the police when she did not receive the money from Hirakawa, who disappeared after they left the hotel, the police said.
Hirakawa took part in public events aimed at protecting children from sexual abuse, including lecturing on the issue at a study session organized by the Elementary School Parents and Teachers Association in Tokyo and at an event organized by the Tokyo suburb of Tachikawa.
He has also written "We must protect children" on a Facebook page that is believed to be his personal account.