Man arrested for stalking ex-girlfriend after police warning

NAGASAKI — Police in Osaka have arrested a 25-year-old self-employed man on suspicion of violating the Stalking Prevention Act after he persistently sent messages to his ex-girlfriend who lives in Nagasaki Prefecture, despite being warned by police.

According to police, the man called a police station in Nagasaki Prefecture at around 11 p.m. on Jan 18 and said he was concerned about his ex-girlfriend because he couldn’t get in touch with her, TBS reported.

When police contacted the woman, she told them she had broken up with the man and cut off all contact. The police instructed the man not to contact her.

However, the man continued to send the woman messages on social media and other platforms the following day, saying things like "I want a reply.” 

The woman notified police and they warned the man again on the evening of Jan 19 that if he didn’t stop trying to contact the woman, it would be a violation of the Stalking Prevention Act.

Despite the warning, the man sent the woman 25 messages over a period of six hours, including one saying "I just want to be friends and go back to how it was."

Police arrested the man on Jan 22. They said he has denied the stalking allegation and quoted him as saying, “There was something I wanted to confirm."

© Japan Today