28th October 2026 – (Tokyo) A Tokyo taxi driver has been arrested on suspicion of sexually assaulting a drunken woman passenger in her flat after seeing her home — then leaving emergency contraception and a handwritten note with his mobile number in her letterbox.
The woman, in her twenties, took a cab home late on 6th October while heavily intoxicated, Japanese media reported. Some outlets said she boarded in Shinjuku after drinking. Police allege the driver, 44-year-old Tomo Masatoshi of Kokubunji in western Tokyo, dropped her at her Nakano Ward flat, pretended to help her inside out of concern, then slipped into her room and forced himself on her for about 20 minutes in the early hours of 7th October.
She told officers her memory of that night was blurred. She had fallen asleep in the taxi and could not say what happened afterwards. Two days later she opened her apartment letterbox and found emergency contraceptive pills together with a note carrying a mobile number. The message said that if she wanted to see him again she should dial that number. Only then did she realise she may have been assaulted. She went to hospital and reported the matter to police.
Investigators used nearby CCTV and the telephone number on the note to identify Mr Tomo. Arrest coverage said he was taken into custody in late October on suspicion of non-consensual sexual intercourse. Under questioning he denied the allegation of force, telling police the encounter was consensual and that it “was not forced”. He has admitted sexual contact took place while contesting any claim that he compelled her.
Tokyo Metropolitan Police said they were still examining the detailed course of events — including how long he remained inside the flat, what cameras captured of his entry with the passenger, and how the pills and handwritten contact reached her letterbox after the alleged assault. The woman maintained she had no clear recollection until that discovery forced her to seek medical help.