Japanese media say police have arrested several men for alleged sexual assault of their daughters

TOKYO (AP) — Japanese media reported this week that police have arrested several men accused of sexual assault of their underaged daughters and sharing their abuse videos online.

Police have so far refused to confirm the reports.

The Kyodo News agency, NHK television and other outlets say police in the Aichi prefecture, a region in central Japan, took into custody several men, who are in their 30s, 40s and 50s.

They are accused of repeatedly raping their daughters or stepdaughters, aged 6-14, filming the scenes of the assaults and sharing the videos on social media. They are also accused of child prostitution and child pornography, the reports said.

They allegedly exchanged messages and footage of their attacks in a group chat. The group was uncovered after one of the men was arrested in November on accusations of raping a child. Police investigated the data on his mobile phone, which led to the arrest of the other men, reports said.