national

61-year-old teacher fired for kissing female student

26 Comments

A 61-year-old male teacher, who is employed at a high school in Hiroshima Prefecture, has been dismissed following accusations that he repeatedly kissed and groped a female student.

The teacher was working at a prefectural high school in Seibu, Hiroshima. According to the prefectural Board of Education, the inappropriate sexual behavior occurred this year from late August to the end of October, Sankei Shimbun reported. During those two months, the teacher would get the girl alone and allegedly kissed her on the lips and groped her breasts more than 10 times.

The repeated incidents of sexual assault came to light after the student consulted with her homeroom teacher and said she was being “sexually harassed.” She was quoted as saying, “When he kissed and touched me, I was in total shock and couldn't even move my body.”

Although the disgraced teacher had initially retired from the school two years ago, he was re-appointed to his faculty position. This year alone, 10 cases of disciplinary action were taken against school personnel in Hiroshima Prefecture, with five on account of obscenity or sexual harassment, the board said.

© Japan Today

©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.

26 Comments
Login to comment

This year alone, 10 cases of disciplinary action were taken against school personnel in Hiroshima Prefecture, with five on account of obscenity or sexual harassment,

This is a disgrace to Japan. Plus all the cases disciplinary action was not taken

4 ( +6 / -2 )

Something weird: it took her 10 times of harassment before reacting ?

I will never understand outside the fact she must have benefited from the situation.

Demography is not yet going to recover with this kind of behaviour

-13 ( +2 / -15 )

Only fired, the police should have arrested him. Dirty old man.

10 ( +13 / -3 )

Repeated sexual assault with no jail time, WTF is wrong with the justice system in Japan?

11 ( +14 / -3 )

Why is this story not in the crime section?

11 ( +13 / -2 )

@Jonathan Prin - Something weird: it took her 10 times of harassment before reacting ? I will never understand outside the fact she must have benefited from the situation.

You say what? You obviously have no idea of how Japanese high schools work. It's most likely this perverted predator targeted a quiet and shy girl who he knew would be too afraid to say anything.

The fact he has received no police action is a slap in the face for every woman in Japan. Sexual assault of a minor, especially by a teacher is an extremely serious offense and carries a 7-10 year jail sentence where I come from. His sentence would also be applied to each assault and this pervert would never see the light of day again. His name would also be added to the publicly accessible sex offenders' list. What does he get in Japan? He gets fired? And, they haven't even published his name! I'll bet he still gets his teacher's pension too. Absolutely disgusting!

7 ( +13 / -6 )

@ Jonathan Prin...Not just Japan, sexual harassment and similar types of behavior often only able to because of a power differential between the people. Im sorry that you aren't able to consider the difficulties for someone in a less privileged, younger, new employee etc etc position's options or ability to deal with problems like this.

6 ( +6 / -0 )

Only fired, the police should have arrested him.

not only fired but re-hired as well! great system!

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Take his pension away.

3 ( +6 / -3 )

Many victims don’t reports because it gets them no where, not especially if you haven’t got any evidence.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Maybe all the publicity about the American sexual assault cases influenced her ability to come forward. I’m glad things are gaining momentum

2 ( +4 / -2 )

@Disillusionned

People must think I have no heart and that I am a perv myself with high social privileges to speak so franckly.

The point is:

there will always be pervs somewhere, especially in the teaching sector

you will always have situations where the perv can get a situation when he can perpetrate his crime.

Whatever you may think, only here the victim could make it stop. Do you want to judge someone before he commits any crime a la Minority report ?

I know Japan well enough and that is why I raise my two girls to kick balls if this happening. No other way than such behaviour to counteract those pervs' actions that thrive in Japan due to the system against the sickly shyness most girls have in that country. To the point they freeze when you kiss them to say hello in France !

Experience talks, take it.

It is all matter of a balance between punishment and prevention, as always if you want to help future victims.

This guy of course should be sentenced to jail for a while (but not a rapist at the same time strangely).

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

Burning BushToday  07:53 am JST

He was probably holding out for 40 years, only to crack now.

Maybe he figured, what the hell, YOLO.

He would have to have a very sick mind to want to sexually assault an unwilling minor for 40 years, only to decide to go through with it with the weakass justification that, "you only live once". Normal people don't think that way.

2 ( +4 / -2 )

Jonathan Prin, I support you. Mass will always be eager to play the "victim card" and "condolences card". They are not Americans who wait decades to start defending their dignity, but still, being subjected to indecency many times and still staying quiet is, by Japanese standards, foolish. Everyone knows how proper the society is outside and how scourged it is inside. Even having him accused would have brought a wave of anger that would cost him his job regardless. Here they evidently believed in many cases of it actually happening. She could have come out of her "safety zone" and said it after the first time. His reputation would have been ruined.

And imagine how much he could do while she kept quiet for the whole time. She did not stop him. This is some kinda marked "victim card".

-6 ( +1 / -7 )

"Sour"

Just wait for things to experience friction. Distressed students, unable to pass exams or out of desire to take revenge on a professor who had "failed them", claiming all sorts of "assault" to ruin the old savant's lifetime of decent work.

-5 ( +1 / -6 )

Jonathan Prin, Daniel Naumoff.

Both of you need to stop and take a minute to think from the perspective of the victim. It's not that easy to fight back when you are a young woman and your attacker is a big man and your teacher to boot.

If she fought back, he could have hit her, spread rumors about her, meddled wih her grades, or found some other way to hurt her. And like she said “When he kissed and touched me, I was in total shock and couldn't even move my body.”

You should both know by now that Japanese culture conditions girls to be submissive and not make a fuss. Even in the west where feminism is making progress, it is scary for women to fight back. Why do you think only 4% of Japanese sexual assault victims go so far as to file a police report? Everyone from the attacker, to the police, to their friends and family, to people on the Internet like you, they all blame the victim.

So just stop and think for a minute.

3 ( +5 / -2 )

Kids are trained to obey authority from birth. And we have posters who question why a kid would panic and obey authority.

9 ( +9 / -0 )

The article doesn't say anything about whether he admitted to the actions; i.e., did he do it? Is there any evidence of wrong doing, other than the girl's words?

But if he did do it, jail time is indeed in order...

5 ( +6 / -1 )

Learned long ago never to touch a student except for shaking hands (unless they're female Islamic). Just this week, I talked with some female HS students about how to react appropriately when a senior touches you anywhere but your hand (or, maybe, shoulder). Thesewere high-level kids, but how naive they are is surprising. Speak out, I emphasized.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Maybe Japan needs to start getting with the times and drop the rote testing method of passing teachers and employing them, and start making them do sensitivity training -- and by them I also mean the board of education staff and Education Ministry on the whole. Change the rote based system of testing into extended practica in the classroom, say an two terms in the classroom and one term, plus some time at the beginning and end of each term, at the university doing professional development. Make it pass or fail based on peer evaluation and whether they can succeed in their practice. And for the love of god, SCREEN them before hiring!

Now, that sad, take this scumbags pension away, and don't just fire him, charge him with molestation and whatever else they can and should charge him with. But what I don't get is how quick this guy was fired, but a person who tells their kids to jump out windows, and coaches who not only bully but engage in physical abuse to the point where kids commit suicide, get no punishment at all, or possibly just extended leave at BEST.

-4 ( +1 / -5 )

If he is molesting a child then yes he deserves gaol time, but as far a I can see (admittedly only on the basis of this report) there does not appear to be any evidence other than the accusation.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

there does not appear to be any evidence other than the accusation.

Not in the basis of the article. But nor does it say he denied the accusation.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Michael JacksonDec. 23  08:13 am JST

Why is this story not in the crime section?

Read this news outlet long enough and you'll come to realise this is not rare. He will be suspended, retired (again!), then all will be forgotten.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

@Sean Sullivan

I just expressed that I would stand grounds to help anyone who would be harassed, and you portray as if I was sided with pervs assaulting young girls.

Feel free to review my life if you want, and this teenager girl would have been giving advice if I knew her. Only if she talks since her parents did not educate her enough, and Japanese system tells you to obey.

I would be delighted that they find evidence either to jail him for such behaviour or show he is innocent (justice applies).

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Login to leave a comment

Facebook users

Use your Facebook account to login or register with JapanToday. By doing so, you will also receive an email inviting you to receive our news alerts.

Facebook Connect

Login with your JapanToday account

User registration

Articles, Offers & Useful Resources

A mix of what's trending on our other sites