Kazuhide Uekusa

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Kazuhide Uekusa

Born December 18, 1960 (1960-12-18) (age 47)
Edogawa, Tokyo, Japan
Occupation Economist, economic analyst, professor, commentator

Kazuhide Uekusa (植草一秀 Uekusa Kazuhide?) was born December 18, 1960 in Edogawa, Tokyo. He is a Japanese economist, economic analyst, a former senior economist at Nomura Research Institute, and chairman of the Three-Nations Research Institute Co., Ltd.. He is generally called Prof. Uekusa (植草教授 Uekusa kyōju?). He gained notoriety for his sex crime arrests.

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[edit] Career

He was born and raised in Edogawa, Tokyo. According to TV interviews with his ex-classmates, he was mostly a straight A student, so they call him a child prodigy.

After graduating Matsue Fourth Municipal Junior High School, he went on to Ryogoku Metropolitan High School. Although this school is coeducational, he was in a boys' class. According to his classmates here, he never talked about girls nor love affairs. They were very impressed that he used to read books while attending school.

In 1979, he entered the prestigious University of Tokyo and majored economics. Uekusa joined Nomura Research Institute in April 1983 after graduating from University of Tokyo in March 1983. He obtained positions as a researcher of Fiscal and Momentary Policy Institute at the Ministry of Finance in July 1985, an assistant professor at the Economic Research Institute at Kyoto University in June 1991, an honorary fellow of the Hoover Institution at Stanford University in October 1993, a senior economist at Nomura Research Institute in April 2002, and became a professor at the graduate school in Waseda University from April 2003, until he was dimissed in April 2004. Afterwards, he established the Three-Nations Research Institute, and became a chairman of the company on April 1, 2005. In April 2006, he made a career comeback in an academic position as a visiting professor at Nagoya University of Commerce and Business graduate school in Nagoya. He lectured on "national economic strategy" until the arrest in September of the year.[1]

Additionally, he has appeared various times on Japanese television programs like Fuji Television's Tokudane! as a commentator.

[edit] Criminal events

Today, he is mostly known as "Mirrorman" for being arrested on April 8, 2004 because he tried to peep under a high school girl's skirt using his hand mirror on the escalator of Shinagawa Station of East Japan Railway Company in Minato, Tokyo. He was dismissed from being a professor on May 7, 2004 because of the arrest, despite denying the charges. He held a news conference in Kasumigaseki on August 30, 2004, where he said "I was told I'd be able to go home quickly if I admitted my guilt, and so I admitted it. Clearly, this is a police frameup. I swear by heaven and earth I'm innocent".

His trial was opened at the Tokyo District Court on March 23, 2005 and the Chief Justice sentenced him to "Paying the fine of 500,000 yen (approx. £3,203 or $4,410) and confiscating his hand mirror". He insisted that it was an "unfair judgement" and showed intentions of appealing. The ruling was established however as he did not make the appeal by the deadline on April 6, 2005.

Additionally, there is a standing criminal record that required he pay the fine of 50,000 yen (approx £320 or $441) for lewd exposure and advances on a woman while on the JR Tōkaidō Main Line from Yokohama Station to Kawasaki Station at about 9:20 p.m. on January 30, 1998. He allegedly caressed the foot of a woman standing opposite him, and then proposed he masturbated for her in his trousers. The woman went to the train conductor and reported the incident. Uekusa was then escorted off the train by the Kanagawa Prefecture police.

A large number of pornographic videos, DVDs and images about voyeurism were discovered in Uekusa's house and his white BMW E36 of AC Schnitzer specifications in a domiciliary visit by the police. For these reasons during a trial, the Chief Justice stated that the "Defendant's sexual tastes are obvious".[2][3][4][5] While still asserting that the charges upon his character are false, Uekusa is also trying to rebuild his reputation. One such attempt is characterised by his return to lecturing on economics.

In spite of the fact he declares himself not guilty of the previous offense (hand mirror case), he was arrested again at the Keikyu Kamata Station ([1]) for molesting a high school girl in a Keihin Kyuko train ([2]) which goes in a direction completely opposite his home on September 13, 2006, around 22:10.[6][7][8]

He claims to be innocent. He says he was drunk when he was arrested, so he does not remember what happened that night. However, Nagoya University of Commerce and Business announced that they dismissed him from being a visiting professor on September 27, 2006.

He was indicted for chikan on October 4, 2006.[9]

He was held at the Tokyo Detention Center from then until January 22, 2007, when he was released on bail of 6,000,000 yen. Tokyo District Court granted bail on January 19, but cancelled it the same day when the Tokyo District Prosecution Office objected. On January 22, the Tokyo High Court upheld the original Tokyo District Court ruling.[10][11]

On October 16, 2007, Uekusa was sentenced to four months in prison by Presiding Judge Sho Kamisaka of the Tokyo District Court. He repeated his earlier denials, but fabric traces on his suit in addition to witness testimony were enough to convince the court that he had groped under the victim's skirt. In handing down the sentence, Kamisaka noted that "The court cannot anticipate that the accused will be rehabilitated" on his own recognizance.[12]

Uekusa vowed to appeal, in a statement saying "the truth will always prevail."[13]

[edit] Popular nicknames

Among a few of the titles Uekusa has earned: "Mirrorman" (ミラーマン?), "Tekagamist" (テカガミスト? JP pron: tekagamisuto), "Eronomist" (エロノミスト? "Erotic" + "Economist"), "Touchman" (タッチマン?).[14] All such names can be found appearing in weekly magazines and the Internet. Succinctly, "Tekagamist" means a person who peeps using a hand mirror. "Mirrorman", named after the classic Japanese TV superhero Mirrorman is most popular version of this title, however.

His hand mirror was dubbed the "invisible hand mirror of God" after Adam Smith's "invisible hand of God".

[edit] Books

  • The Political Economics of Interest rates, Foreign Exchanges, and Stock Prices (金利・為替・株価の政治経済学 Kinri kawase kabuka no seiji keizaigaku?). Iwanami Shoten, Tokyo 1992, ISBN 4-00-004173-8
  • Japan's Bottom Line (日本の総決算 Nihon no sōkessan?). Kodansha, Tokyo 1999, ISBN 4-06-206330-1
  • Modern Japanese Economic Policy Theory (現代日本経済政策論 Gendai Nihon keizai seisakuron?). Iwanami Shoten, Tokyo 2001, ISBN 4-00-026268-8
  • The Uekusa Report: Factors Defining FY2006 (ウエクサ・レポート 2006年を規定するファクター Uekusa Repōto Nisenroku nen wo Kitei suru Fakutā?). Shisei Bungaku, Tokyo 2006 ISBN 4902995018

[edit] References

  1. ^ Japundit » Nagoya U hires perv prof
  2. ^ Biz wiz plays malice through the looking glass
  3. ^ aPervy professor's upskirt inspections expose cracks in pillar of society
  4. ^ Scholar denies peeping up girl's skirt
  5. ^ 'Distorted sexual desires' cost academic
  6. ^ Japundit » Econoperv strikes again!
  7. ^ Japan Today - Shukan Post Watcher - Economist Uekusa has done it again
  8. ^ Third strike for naughty number cruncher Kazuhide Uekusa
  9. ^ Japan Today - News - 'Peeping' economist indicted for groping student on train
  10. ^ 植草被告保釈、東京高裁が検察側の抗告棄却 Nikkei Net
  11. ^ "Economist in groping trial makes bail"The Japan Times Online
  12. ^ "Groping economist gets four-month prison term"The Japan Times Online
  13. ^ "Groping economist gets four-month prison term"The Japan Times Online
  14. ^ 無知ゆえ恥を知らず。 植草教授、また逮捕！

[edit] See also

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