Sexual harassment complaints lodged against 'Cool Japan' fund

"all female employees were ordered to draw straws with a phrase on each. The phrases included "movie date with executive" and "handmade present" for the person connected to the fund."

WTF? unvoluntary distribution of "prices" like going on dates without specification if it's compulsory? Events like this belong to college bachelorette parties and NOT professional businesses. What were they thinking? COOL Japan's executives are behaving in a very uncool manner.

Sounds like a bunch of creeps trying to abuse their power.

Japanese women also many times need to be stronger and more vocal about standing up for themselves.

I'm not in any way excusing their behavior, but many older Japanese men simply don't know where the line is. And, as far as that goes, some women assume a role at parties that encourages misconceptions. Beware of drinking with coworkers!

I'm not sure these offenses count as sexual harassment as such. They're closer to inequality in the workplace. I'll bet these women clean the office and make the coffee as well. Id also bet they receive 20% less salary for the same job as the men.

In a country where men watch young pop idols, it is not surprising but totally wrong.

Real Cool.....?

These "executives" need to look into the silicone dolls I read about in the other article. They can say and do what they want without any backlash.

This is what happens when you gather up a group of random government stooges to do a job they are not qualified to do. They should scrap the entity altogether.

Hardly surprising.

Cool Japan Inc is nothing more than another dinosaur company run by elderly dinosaurs whose projects are tied to its shareholders. They take tax-payer money and use it to promote their own business interests. It seems the career bureaucrat on loan from the central government thought the female employees were there for his entertainment.

"I have no memory of (the incident), but I am sorry if I made someone feel uncomfortable."

A token non-apology. It really is like the 1960s but with smartphones.

I dont see strong evidence here. The world becoming too PC sometimes, it was a socializing event at a Karaoke joint which a lot of things happen, probably a few drinks and a more relaxed, dare I say fun attitude, in a typical Japanese immature - naïve sense someone is being themselves who comes from a different family or regional background where more inocent physical contact as normal. As happens when office groups form and collusion leads to zelouse intentions and deluded perceptions. Soon a an innocent pat on the back will be considered immoral or abuse. Sad world.

Excellent.  A fund run by a bunch of old geezers but with (supposedly) a lot of young trendsetters working there - some female.  what could possibly go wrong?

The fund had invested 69.3 billion yen ($613 million) as of April, 58.6 billion yen of which from the central government and 10.7 billion yen from private firms.

Signs of a banana republic.

$613m to do what ?

Only a revolution will save this country from the wanton pillaging by the bureucrats something

that the DPJ tried to rectify when they had the reins of gov't and got sabotaged by the bureaucrats.

Although some of this may be benign 'fun' (in a greasy sense of the word). I'm sure these girls put up with far creepier, yet more concealed, treatment at work. I'll bet they were 'punished' because they didn't take to their bosses advances but they would probably not even know how they were punished, and probably just wrote it off as another bad day/week... TIJ.

The male connected to the fund apparently attended the event without the foreknowledge that the female employees would be ordered to draw such straws.

The former executive who hailed from the central government told Kyodo, "I have no memory of (the incident), but I am sorry if I made someone feel uncomfortable."

Ahhh, the classic Japanese "I don't remember" / "I didn't know"...

Man, these guys would be thrown under the bus in civilized countries.

obladiToday 08:09 am JSTI'm not in any way excusing their behavior, but many older Japanese men simply don't know where the line is.

well, first of all, you are excusing their behavior by claiming these men are ignorant that their actions would be considered harrasment. i don't know about you but it doesn't take einstein to figure out that having women draw straws for dates and home made gifts is wrong.

second of all, this ignorance excuse might find an audience ten/twenty years ago, but nowadays, most large companies have sexual harrasment classes and booklets that clearly state what it is.

and i love how some guys on here think that unwanted touching "doesn't seem that bad." well, imagine if some smelly oba chan wanted to rub up on you. would you think that it was ok?

Seems quite expected given that interview posted here not long ago with their boss...

The world becoming too PC sometimes,.. Soon a an innocent pat on the back will be considered immoral or abuse. Sad world.

It's certainly a sad world where concern over the welfare of someone who may have felt harassed is dismissed as "PC".

Well, they ARE promoting Japanese culture after all, and sexual harassment is still hardly dealt with at all and widely accepted, if not flat out ordered endure and 'gaman', so inadvertently 'promoting' it is indeed a reflection of society here. The thing is, it's not 'cool', not at all. These creeps most certainly knew what they were doing with the "O-sama game" crap; there is an entire genre of porn related to it. And if you think I'm wrong about the culture, why have these people not been named and shamed yet? and does anything honestly think they'll be punished for it?

THIS is the kind of thing that needs to be disseminated overseas and pressured from, so at the very least people abroad know it is becoming an issue that will hopefully at some point be dealt with. For now, it's just accepted.

This fund is a bunch of BS you should see the crap they are endorsing as Japanese

Because the law must be specific, any touching by a superior male of a lower rank woman employee is ruled sekusu-hara (sexual harassment), but the straw plan was out of the rule book's range, it seems. Non-Japanese had best be clearly aware that in today's Japan culture ANY touching has such a heavy penalty. It must be very constraining for males not used to leaving distance. I first came to Japan already married, so I never went on a days here. Does anyone know whether the employees could have expected gentlemanly treatment on their "date" with a boss required by the joke? Or has Japan too become a place where date-rape must be carefully avoided?

Japan business culture is simply bad. Socialize on your own time. Work from 9-to-5. Speak directly but politely to all of your colleagues. Get stuff done. Go home and rest and develop a hobby. If you are so socially stunted that you need to coerce young women to go to social functions under the implied threat of being fired then may I suggest you purchase a Silicon Sally doll that was mentioned in a previous article.