Thank you for your question.
I’m Kida, the representative.
Let me answer your question.
Could the suspect or victim in this incident be a member of our club?
→ We checked the real names reported in the media, and neither person has ever been a member of our club, either currently or in the past.
That said, speaking in general terms, even if someone were somehow connected to Universe Club, we would not be able to post something on a public message board such as, “They were registered with us in the past.”
We will clearly state that they are not members.
Below, I’d like to share my personal view on how this incident might affect other members if the man and woman involved had been members introduced through Universe Club.
The investigative authorities would likely make every effort to determine how the male suspect obtained the stimulant drugs. They would probably examine the suspect’s smartphone history and contact everyone believed to have had any connection with him for questioning.
If the club received a request from the authorities to voluntarily provide information, we would first have our legal counsel review the contents. However, we would absolutely not hand over member information to the police at the voluntary-investigation stage—including information about the suspect.
If we refused to cooperate voluntarily, I assume the police might obtain a court order and conduct a compulsory investigation. If that happened, we might be required to provide all information concerning every member, including the server itself. In that case, we would probably contact the police only after obtaining consent from each individual whose information was to be disclosed.
That said, the amount of information would obviously be enormous, so I imagine only the portions related to the suspect would be disclosed.
Even in such a situation, I believe it is unlikely that, as is often claimed online, “member information would fall into police hands and the person’s company or family would find out.”
We and our members provide and use this service in accordance with Japanese law.
If a drunk, disturbed person driving a Toyota caused a mass hit-and-run incident in a pedestrian zone, I don’t think Toyota would hand over information on every Toyota owner in Japan to the police.
However, the above is merely my personal opinion, as I am not well-versed in the law. In reality, member information might leak, and Toyota might even provide information to the police.
Universe Club cannot guarantee that this will never happen.
Please understand that using a dating club also means dealing with this kind of anxiety.
Kida
