A Buddhist priest, a doctor and a teacher have been seized in Japan accused of attending orgies with an underage girl and it has now emerged they were selected as sex party guests on Twitter.

Prosecutors in Tokyo are investigating a string of 24 VIPs and pillars of society who signed up to attend the events at an exclusive hotel in the Japanese capital.

Japanese media has named the ringleader as Ryota Takahashi, 31, who is said to have taken fees from participants to cover the costs of hotel bookings and who was seized in August.

Other suspected participants include a member of the Japanese military and a public accountant, with it now emerging that the orgy-goers are said to have been chosen via Twitter for the sex parties with an underage high school girl said to be known to Takahashi.

Prosecutors are understood to be investigating alleged breaches of child pornography and child prostitution laws at three events staged between April and June 2020.

Takahashi allegedly selected participants on Twitter and charged them a small attendance fee after reportedly implying that the underage girl was a high school student.

Investigators told Japanese media: “Takahashi didn’t select the members depending on their occupations. Teachers and doctors were chosen only as an end result.”

Investigators also said that Takahashi did not seek to make money out of the orgies, instead using the fees to pay hotel bills and other expenses.

Takahashi reportedly told investigators that he “had hosted the parties as just a hobby.”

Yukiko Imai, an associate professor of criminal psychology at Nara University, reportedly analysed the participants that Takahashi had picked and told local media: “It’s possible that the system gave participants a sense of specialness, superiority, and the satisfaction that they ‘were chosen,’ and motivated them to repeatedly attend.”

And Kazuaki Hashimoto, a professor of criminal psychology and clinical abuse at the International University of Health and Welfare Graduate School told local media: “Despite the high ethical standards required for the professions, there is no end to the number of people who get arrested over similar incidents.

“I hope that people in these positions will uphold a higher degree of awareness.”

Some of the men being investigated for participating in the orgies have claimed that they “did not know she was under 18 years old”, according to local media.

The investigation is understood to be ongoing.