On 27 August, Japanese police arrested two men suspected of producing child pornography involving underage girls in Laos and Myanmar, sparking renewed calls for stronger child protection measures in the region.
According to Japanese media, Aichi Prefectural Police apprehended Yoshihiro Shirai, a 60-year-old dentist from Osaka, and Kazuhiko Uji, a 65-year-old unemployed man from Nagoya.
Asahi Shimbun posted about 2 men busted on charge of filming underage girls in Laos, Myanmar.
The arrests followed investigations into a broader child prostitution scandal involving Japanese nationals in Laos, according to the report.
The case was prosecuted under Japan’s extraterritorial jurisdiction provision, which allows Japanese citizens to be prosecuted for crimes such as producing child pornography committed abroad.
Police say Shirai and Uji operated independently in different countries and hotels, Shirai in Myanmar in October 2024 and Uji in Laos around March 2025. Both are accused of filming underage girls in sexually explicit acts and producing obscene content.
Though both men initially admitted during questioning to paying local women for sex and asking them to appear in videos, they later denied knowingly involving minors. Shirai claimed the girl “looked like she was in her 30s” and that he filmed her with her “consent,” while Uji remained silent but previously stated, “We had mutual romantic feelings.”
However, police rejected these claims. A medical expert reviewed the seized footage and confirmed that the girls were under 18. Authorities also confiscated small cameras and explicit videos from both suspects, which are central to the case.
The Lao authorities have not released any statement on the case yet.
In June, the Japanese Embassy in Laos issued a public warning urging Japanese nationals to refrain from engaging in child prostitution. The warning came in response to social media reports and a petition from Japanese expatriates in Laos calling for urgent action to combat child exploitation.
The warning of Japan Embassy in Laos about child prostitution in Laos.
AloJapan.com