The 48 men from 18 prefectures include teachers
and firefighters, according to the joint investigation team of the
Chiba and Aichi prefectural police.
The men are suspected of using Cabos file-swapping software to
publicly circulate the pornographic images and video on the
Internet last year, according to the police.
Of the 48, three, including a teacher at a private junior high
school in Tokyo in
his 30s, were arrested by the Chiba prefectural police. The teacher
is still being questioned by investigators on a voluntary basis
after being released on bail, while the other two have been fined
500,000 yen.
The police have sent papers on the other men to prosecutors,
they said.
The joint team initiated a cyber-patrol after the police
received a report from an acquaintance of the girl that the images
and video had been posted on the Internet, it said