SAPPORO -- A mystery attacker has been spraying bleach or a similar liquid on the skirts and trousers of women in central Sapporo, leaving embarrassing marks on their clothing, it has been learned.

A total of 15 attacks have occurred in subway stations, underground shopping centers and other areas since March, police said. Forty-four similar attacks were reported between May and July last year, but the perpetrator has not yet been apprehended. Police suspect a single person is responsible.

"The incidents last year stopped when they were reported in the news, but it looks like the same person has started them again after time has passed," a Sapporo Chuo Police Station official said.

Investigators said that a 39-year-old woman from Otaru spotted a suspicious man putting a spray can into his pocket and fleeing near the entrance of Sapporo Station on the Namboku Subway Line at about 5:10 p.m. on Tuesday. When she checked the back of her trousers, she found they had been marked with bleach or a similar liquid, leaving a white patch about 5 centimeters in diameter.

The man appeared to be aged between about 20 and 40. He was of thin build with short, frizzy hair, was wearing a light-colored top and black trousers and carrying a black bag, investigators said.

Police said that on March 21, a woman in her 30s was shopping at a department store in Sapporo's Chuo-ku when a store employee told her, "The color of your bottom has changed," and she noticed her trousers had been sprayed. Around the same time, another woman in her 30s smelled something like bleach, and, on checking her trousers, found they had changed color.

Police said most of the incidents occurred between about 8 a.m. and 9 a.m., and 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. All of the victims were in their 20s and 30s. In most cases the women didn't immediately notice, and only the woman in Otaru was able to give concrete information on the attacker.

Sapporo police have increased patrols in response to the incidents, and are calling for information from the public.

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