The case raises questions about the nature of groups that are supposedly intended to help runaways in Kabukicho and elsewhere.
A man who was supposed to help youth in danger turned out to be the danger himself. Saitama Prefectural police say they have arrested the former head of an organization whose mission was to protect youth who had made a second home on the streets of Kabukicho.
Saitama police arrested 43-year-old Makino Masayuki for violating the prefecture’s Youth Protection and Nurture Law. Makino allegedly raped a then 17-year-old at a hotel in the city of Kawagoe on October 15th, 2023.
Makino founded a group called All xyz (オウルxyz), a group that aimed to provide support to the “Toyoko Kids” of Tokyo’s Kabukicho neighborhood. Toyoko Kids, named after the area next to the Toho Building, are youth from across Japan who flee to the area after leaving their homes.
Tokyo Shimbun says that Makino started the group in August 2022. Media reports speak about Makino’s leadership of this group in the past tense. However, it’s unclear from its home page when he stepped down and who currently leads the group. The group has also not updated its X account since December 2023.
Groups like All xyz are supposed to help protect Toyoko youth from abuse. However, TBS News reports that Makino instead used the area to prey on young girls.
Police allege he met the young girl in Kabukicho, where he bought her food and gave her money for transportation. A report by KHB TV says Makino stalked the girl at her work after she refused to meet him again.
Makino denies the charges.
Are good orgs being turned away?
The case throws a spotlight on exactly who’s working for these male-led “support” groups and who’s vetting them. The case is especially alarming given the fate that befell one woman-led group, Colabo, a couple of years back.
Colabo, run by leader Nito Yumeno, sponsors a bus in Shinjuku and Shibuya that provides support to young runaway girls. However, after sustained attacks by online right-wing bomb-throwers opposed to Nito’s feminism, the Tokyo metropolitan government yanked the group’s funding.
The bus is still operating, thanks to private donations. However, Tokyo also rescinded permission to use its prominent position in front of Shinjuku City Hall.
Nito commented on Makino’s arrest on her X account. “Since we were driving out from in front of Shinjuku City Hall, these sorts of ‘support orgs’ run by men have increased,” she alleges.
These shady “support orgs”aren’t the only problem. Shelters run by the cities themselves contend with men using the spaces to sexually assault girls or lure them into prostitution. The problem isn’t limited to Kabukicho, either; shelters in Osaka grapple with similar issues.
Perhaps, with this issue gaining more media attention, Tokyo will come back around to funding groups like Colabo. And, while they’re at it, take a harder look at the true intentions of groups like Makino’s.
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