Man arrested for kidnapping 12-year-old Osaka girl

Nov 24, 2019 | News On Japan

Nov 24, 2019 (Japan Today) - A 12-year-old girl who disappeared after leaving her house in Osaka on Nov 17 turned up Saturday at a police box in Oyama, Tochigi Prefecture, saying she had been confined in a house by a man.

According to police, the girl, Iroha Akasaka, appeared at the police box at around 1:30 p.m. Police said she wasn't wearing shoes. She told them she had escaped from a manâ€™s house where another girl was also being confined, Fuji TV reported.

Police went to the house and arrested a 35-year-old man as he was leaving with a 15-year-old girl. Police said both girls were in good health. Police said the man, Hitoshi Ito, a temp worker, has denied kidnapping Akasaka whom he met on a social networking site.

Police said the other girl had been confined in Ito's house since June but gave no further details.

Iroha was last seen leaving her home in Osaka's Sumiyoshi Ward after having breakfast with her mother at around 7:30 a.m. last Sunday. She then exchanged text messages with a friend at 10:30 a.m. That was the last communication anyone had with her.

Her mother took a nap after breakfast and awoke at around 11 a.m. When her daughter failed to return home in the afternoon, she tried calling her phone but it was apparently turned off.

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