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Drunk vice principal loses job after urinating in girls bathing area on field trip

30 Comments
By Scott Wilson

Japan is no stranger to some teachers making horrifically bad decisions, but this may be one of the most egregious ones yet.

On Nov 30, the 61-year-old male vice principal of a private high school in Ichihara City, Chiba Prefecture drunkenly stumbled into the girls bath area at a ryokan during a field trip. He then proceeded to urinate in the designated washing space.

The vice principal was accompanying 250 second-year high school students as a chaperone on a field trip to Kyoto. The night in question marked the end of their three-night four-day stay.

According to reports from the school, the vice principal had been celebrating the end of the trip with 10 other faculty members, drinking beer, plus a half bottle of wine and most of a 720-milliliter bottle of sake that he had ordered himself.

After taking a nap in his room, he awoke at 9:45 p.m., entered into the girls bathing area next to his room in a drunken state, and urinated in the washing space.

Although bathing time for students had ended earlier at 9 p.m., there were still three female students in the bath’s changing area who were cleaning up and witnessed the vice principal.

The vice principal has resigned from his position and stated that: “Since I was completely drunk, I have no memory of the event. I had absolutely no intention of peeking at the girls.”

The school administration are currently considering if further disciplinary action will be taken.

The school’s principal commented, saying: “It is regrettable that the trip the students had been looking forward to ended like this. We are considering it as a problem for the entire school, and are taking it seriously. I hope that, moving forward, we can change the faculty’s way of thinking for the better, so as to avoid anything like this in the future.”

Here’s what Japanese netizens had to say about the incident:

“Since the girls bathing area was next to his room, there’s a chance he mistook it for a restroom. But then you have to wonder why there was a bedroom right next door to it, and why he was in that room in the first place….”

“Alcohol: The Destroyer of Lives.”

“I don’t think my teacher chaperones partied like that during my field trips.”

“Yikes. Even peeing in the washing area? That’s disgusting.”

Source: Asahi Shimbun via Hachima Kiko

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30 Comments
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Ha! The typical response is I don't remember anything. He will get an administrative job somewhere. He just needs to avoid mentioning this incident. People don't really do background checks here unless it is a foreigner. Sad but true!

1 ( +7 / -6 )

Since I was completely drunk, I have no memory of the event.

This is not part of his defence! It is part of his offence! A great way to set an example as a professional educator, NOT!

0 ( +0 / -0 )

"... 250 second-year high school students as a chaperone on a field trip to Kyoto." 

This is a big reason why Kyoto is so congested.

7 ( +9 / -2 )

At 61 he might have a dicky prostate---the urge to urinate can come with extreme urgency at short notice.

0 ( +8 / -8 )

He is the chaperone, he is also the leader of the teachers on the trip. He got what he deserved.

5 ( +7 / -2 )

The vice principal has resigned from his position and stated that: “Since I was completely drunk, I have no memory of the event. I had absolutely no intention of peeking at the girls.”

If he was that drunk, how could he fulfil his job description as a chaperone?

16 ( +17 / -1 )

This really makes me laugh. still so many uncontrollable drunks peeing all over.

8 ( +9 / -1 )

“I don’t think my teacher chaperones partied like that during my field trips.”

Yes, they did. Students are often left unattended past the time they are supposed to be in bed, and all of the teachers typically get plastered during that time. A student probably wouldn't see the teachers drinking, but they almost certainly were on every school trip.

1 ( +5 / -4 )

Drink at your own risk.

6 ( +7 / -1 )

Here I thought I was FINALLY going to read about someone getting canned for their drunken behavior and the “I was drunk. I don’t remember” excuse not flying, but as suspected, he wasn’t fired — he resigned.

4 ( +5 / -1 )

Not to mention that since this was a private school the trip was more than likely set up by some agency that also paid for the party and had employees monitoring the students during it as well.

I know that happens, as I participated in one on a trip to Hokkaido from Okinawa way back when!

2 ( +2 / -0 )

“Since I was completely drunk, I have no memory of the event. I had absolutely no intention of peeking at the girls.

How would he know the 2nd part if he really had no memory of "the event"? Please tell me Japanese judges have the awareness to ask him such questions for the record.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

As far as we know the man has never been involved in any trouble before this. The man has too much to drink, stumbles into the next room to pee and loses his job over it. Regrettable.

"Since the girls bathing area was next to his room, there’s a chance he mistook it for a restroom. But then you have to wonder why there was a bedroom right next door to it, and why he was in that room in the first place….”

Maybe that's just how they decided to construct the place and he was just assigned the room?

-6 ( +1 / -7 )

I feel sorry for the guy, but this was way beyond a "whoops, I had too much to drink" offense. On top of that, he was on duty as the chaperone for the group, so he really shouldn't have been drinking that much in the first place.

So many Japan "experts" claim that people are forgiven for what they say and do at bonenkais and such, that the drinking provides a rare chance to express their real feelings. But walking into the girl's shower room and urinating on the floor in full view? Not gonna fly.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Beers, half a bottel of wine and a bottle of Sake he ordered himself, suprised his liver didn't reject him in a violent manner. How messy were his co-workers?. What kind of horror hotel has no bathroom in the room and requires guests to clean apparently a communal washing area?, sounds more like a camp from 1950. But obviously they did have a bar. Disgusting behaviour from one in charge of children.

4 ( +5 / -1 )

@Cricky, I've stayed in a few ryokans and none had bathrooms in my room. They're almost always communal, male separated from female. That said, I've consumed more than that teacher had to drink and wasn't so gassed I couldn't tell the difference between the separate bathrooms. When I hear stories on JT about Japanese men getting drunk on a bottle of sake, another bottle of wine and a few beers, and then claiming they don't remember a thing, I have a real problem believing them. If I was a Japanese judge and someone claimed that defense in front of me, I'd have a really difficult time not bursting into laughter and throwing the book at him.

5 ( +5 / -0 )

I've never seen or luckily stayed in one, thought they were an Urban myth. Sound atrocious but they must be cheep lacking in basic amenities, you have to leave your room to go to the toilet? Oh well clears that up. That's still a lot of alcohol before 9, for an old man. Can't remember, explains a lot about teachers knowledge but not their behaviour.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Emergency wee is OK, but in a high school girl changing room? Should be put on the sex offender list.

-4 ( +0 / -4 )

I remember my 'Welcome to Akita' staff party when I came to Japan on the JET Program in 2003. I was sat in the seat of honor next to the 62-year old principal, who proceeded to drink a copious amount of cheap whiskey before the food was even served. He was rolling around on the tatami rambling incoherently, groping at female teachers and waitresses, snoring like a lumberjack, waking up and drinking more to do it all over again.

I thought at the time, "wow, first week here and I'm gonna witness a local scandal with the principal getting fired in disgrace", but nope, it was just par for the course. Happened at every enkai, until he retired in good graces at age 65 a few years later. Good guy, he; used to invite me into his big office to rip cigarettes and watch baseball while students strolled in and out sucking in second-hand smoke.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Some very drunk people can do this in their sleep.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

So it is OK for teachers to drink on the job but not pilots. I wonder if surgeons can drink on the job?

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Hands up all those who can honestly say that they have never been so drunk that they couldn't remember---especially after drinking sake.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

he was only fired because it's a private high school if this was a public high school he would have just been reassigned

1 ( +1 / -0 )

At least in his drunken state he found a place that kind of looked like a bathroom. Eons ago when I entered the service, one of my friends was so drunk that he stood up in the aisle of a crowded movie theater and started urinating. He was yanked out of there (spraying everywhere) by a couple of staff members. We never saw him again.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Sometimes this stuff happens. I personally was so drunk once that I woke up in the middle of a night after heavy drinking, just like this guy, and instead of heading to the bathroom accidentally opened the door to the dorm room next to those facilities and peed on the floor. In the morning I did not remember a thing -- and was mortified. Lesson learned. I don't really think one mistake like this is grounds for firing -- especially since it seems everyone chaperoning was drinking! Not that that is the best thing to do on a field trip where 24hr assistance must be provided, but my point remains the same: mistakes happen. I feel for the guy.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

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