Japanese man arrested for collecting saliva from schoolgirls

A 55-year-old jobless Japanese man has been arrested in Tokyo for having three schoolgirls spit out saliva and filming them in the process, police have said. Toshihiko Mizuno was caught in Tokyo on suspicion of "habitual indecency," which carries a penalty of up to one year in jail or a fine of one million yen ($12,400).

Mizuno separately approached the three girls, aged nine and 10, in October and December last year outside apartment towers or in the street, saying: "I am doing research on saliva. Give me your saliva," a Metropolitan Police Department spokesman said.



"He videotaped them as they spat out saliva. He also asked them to open their mouths and filmed their mouth interiors and tongues," the official said. "He has done so habitually to satisfy his sexual desire."

Media reports, quoting police sources, said that Mizuno had approached about 4,000 young girls and managed to collect saliva from about 500 of them over 17 years in Tokyo and neighbouring Saitama. Police allegedly found 26 videotapes at his home showing more than 200 girls.