Photo/Illutration Computer hardware that was used by Hiroshi Ishigami is shown to the media by Chiba prefectural police on June 21. (Akimitsu Ishigaki)

CHIBA--Prefectural police arrested a man on June 21 for secretly filming a female athlete and then selling the video online through a pornography website.

Hiroshi Ishigami, a 57-year-old company employee who lives in Ichikawa, Chiba Prefecture, sold an eight-minute video of a former volleyball player in her 20s, apparently shot with an infrared camera, on an adult-themed website on Nov. 20, 2018, police said.

The video is a compilation of film secretly taken before and during a game that shows the player’s face and underwear seen through her clothes.

Ishigami made the video available for sale on the website until March 10 this year, allowing many people to see it, although the number was not specified.

Police arrested Ishigami on a defamation charge, which he has admitted to, according to police.

This is the first time in Japan police have built a defamation case over a secretly filmed video of a female athlete, according to prefectural police.

“We believe it is significant to sound a warning by prosecuting similar cases and making sure that each and every athlete can compete with a sense of security,” a police spokesperson said.

Investigators discovered the video during a cyber patrol, police said.

Ishigami sold about 30 similar voyeur videos that he secretly took of female athletes, including volleyball players, on the website.

Police believe he sold these kinds of videos on other sites as well, making about a total of 6 million yen ($54,630) since 2015.

The Metropolitan Police Department arrested a man in May for posting images of female athletes with obscene captions on a porn website for violating the Copyright Law.

Seven groups, including the Japanese Olympic Committee, issued a statement in November 2020 against these sorts of “despicable acts,” such as sneakily recording voyeuristic videos of athletes, “misusing” photos or videos, and making “malicious” social media posts.

The Tokyo Olympic organizing committee in March this year decided to formally ban people at competition venues from photographing or filming athletes for the purpose of sexually harassing them.

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