“I Couldn’t Suppress My Urge to See Their Underwear” — Uniqlo Manager Arrested for Illicit Filming

On October 31, 2024, Tokyo police arrested Kohei Takahashi, a 35-year-old manager at Uniqlo’s Atre Vie Otsuka branch in Toshima Ward, for secretly filming female customers in the store’s fitting rooms.

The recordings were made between July 28 and August 13, 2024, and investigators found over 40 illicit videos on Takahashi’s smartphone.

Kohei Takahashi. Photo courtesy of livedoornews on X

Manager Exploited Moments of Privacy

Takahashi, who had been managing the store since September 2023, reportedly filmed eight women, including a 15-year-old girl, a junior high school student. He used his smartphone to record women through gaps in the fitting room curtains.

Illustration of how the suspect took illicit videos and photos in the fitting rooms. Photo courtesy of X

This was part of a deliberate act to capture private moments when customers were alone.

Earlier Arrest Led to Discovery

According to reports, Takahashi’s arrest in August 2024 for attempting to take an upskirt photo on the Yamanote Line led police to search his phone, where they uncovered nearly 50 videos. Of these, 44 were recorded inside the store, while the remaining footage came from other public locations.

Uniqlo Apologises and Reviews Policies

In response to the incident, Uniqlo issued an apology, saying, “We deeply apologize to the victim and her family for the great inconvenience and pain we have caused. We take this violation of our customers’ trust very seriously and will do everything we can to prevent it from happening again.”

The company has pledged to strengthen store security and increase employee training to prevent such breaches in the future.