210 Teachers Punished for Sexual Offenses in Japan

December 26, 2018

Tokyo--A total of 210 teachers at public schools in Japan were disciplined for sexual offenses in fiscal 2017, which ended in March, according to an education ministry survey.

The number fell 16 from the record high marked the previous year, but it has remained above 200 since fiscal 2013, the survey showed Tuesday.

Of the latest annual total, 56 were punished for touching the victim's body, followed by 42 who carried out secret filming or peeping and 38 who had sexual intercourse.

Of the teachers at public elementary, junior and senior high schools who faced disciplinary measures, including dismissal and admonishment for acts of obscenity or sexual harassment, 97 committed such acts against students of the same schools and 26 victimized teachers and other staff of the same schools.

Of the total offenders, the number of men came to 206 and the figure for women stood at four.

"The result reflects a low level of awareness among the teachers and their lack of credentials," a ministry official said. "It is good to build a relationship based on trust with students but crossing the line is totally unacceptable."

Elsewhere in the survey, the number of teachers who took sick leave due to depression or other mental health problems increased 186 to 5,077.

The rise apparently stemmed from increased amounts of work and stress from handling unreasonable requests from parents and others, according to the ministry official.

The official suggested an aim to promote teachers' work style reforms, including more active use of outside personnel, such as support staff to help teachers prepare for teaching and conduct clerical work.

Meanwhile, women held 17.5 pct of managerial positions in schools, such as school heads and vice heads, marking the highest-ever level. The Japanese government aims to raise the share of managerial workers in schools who are females to 20 pct in fiscal 2020. Jiji Press