Teacher forces female student to wear maid's costume in Akita

Thursday 05th March, 05:51 AM JST

AKITA —

A 51-year-old high school teacher at a public school in Akita Prefecture forced an 18-year-old female student to wear a maid’s costume, telling her that she would not receive academic credits if she refused. The student reported the case to police, the local education board said Wednesday.

According to school officials, the teacher, who manages an art club at Odate High School, pressured the student to wear a maid costume for a photo contest on Sept 22 last year. He told the student that he would not give her any credits for the class unless she wore the costume. The teacher told officials he chose the student as a model because of her “cute smile.”

The teacher brought a digital camera to the session and asked three other female students to take photos of the girl while he left the room. The student later complained to a female school official, who encouraged her to report the matter to local police on Tuesday.

The teacher was quoted by school officials as saying, “It was just a joke.” He and the school principal apologized to the student and her parents on Wednesday, and immediately deleted the images of her in the maid costume.

The teacher has been suspended from managing the art club for three months, but not from teaching students in the club, according to the school officials.

News reports

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Latest 15 of 59 Total Comments Show All

airrunwesker at 02:36 AM JST - 6th March

Age for being an adult in Japan is actually 20... not 16, 18, or 12.

But the pinishment should fit the crime! Why don't se simply make this fair! Make him wear a maid outfit for three days, walk around in public, while everyone takes photos! And he must agree to walk up and start a random conversation with at least 2 U.S. Sailors!

WAIT! Who did the maid outfit belong to in the 1st place? he had a maid outift on hand, one that fit her... This is either realy really innocent, or really really scary-
Molenir at 02:50 AM JST - 6th March

You "might consider becoming one" what? An 18-year old girl? Grammar and spelling always count.

Think the quote he used was more then sufficient explanation. Regarding this guy, agreed, he ought to have been fired for this. Threatening to fail the girl if she didn't wear the costume deserves more then a suspension.
ca1ic0cat at 04:06 AM JST - 6th March

Yes, this is a firing offense for a professor. The only thing that might have stopped that from happening is tenure. Sick, sick, sick!
watarigarasu at 04:38 AM JST - 6th March

For those who say the teacher should have been fired: Are teachers that easy to come by that they can be fired over just any little thing? Pressuring a girl to dress up in a maid costume might be going a bit far, but certainly it doesn't seem like a firing offense.
space_monkey at 06:18 AM JST - 6th March

Under 20 = Child. Unfortunately we don't know all the facts. How many witnesses there were. The history of the student or teacher causing trouble. How sexy or conservative the uniform was. What everyone else was wearing. To me it sounds like he was set up. If she was with her friends and also went ahead with wearing it, and they took her pictures while he was not in the room!!! that sounds strange. Why would her friends do that AND then complain???

Maybe she was trying to blackmail him. It happens. I have heard a few stories from J-chicks who did it. I met one girl once a few years back who was 24 at the time who said to her high school teacher in the final year, if you don't give me 30,000 yen and pass me in my test I will accuse you of harassing me. He gave her 50,000yen!!! and she wrote nothing in her test. Unbelievable.

Nothing surprises me any more in this country.
Molenir at 02:16 PM JST - 6th March

Pressuring a girl to dress up in a maid costume might be going a bit far, but certainly it doesn't seem like a firing offense.

Its not the requiring the girl to dress up, its the pressuring via grade that is the issue. This is not just a little thing. By doing this, he is taking himself out of the role of teacher, and into the range of the criminal. As I said before, he should have been fired.
Stonefish at 02:29 PM JST - 6th March

It most definately IS a firing offence.

What else does this jerk get up to in his professional duties is the question you have to ask.

He has been caught out as a person UNFIT in the role of teacher.

And quite frankly no, I don't think it would be that hard to replace him.
IchyaWarFare at 02:40 PM JST - 6th March

likeitis - did you really take my comment seriously? More than half the comments on JT are not that serious and you chose mine, even though mine said "how about this", like "what if"?

Oh yeah, more maid costumes makes the world go round.
watarigarasu at 03:48 AM JST - 7th March

Under 20 = Child.

Yeah, I have to kind of laugh at that one... In the US, people say «Under 18 = child» and where I live a lot of people say it's under 16, the age of consent. Different people and different governments have all kinds of standards for what makes a child, and nobody can agree. But the practical effect is that kids who are below the legal age where they live can blackmail adults just by claiming some form of abuse.

I find this story to be rather amusing... one of those «Only in Japan» kind of news stories!
PepinGalarga at 05:58 AM JST - 7th March

for every one that gets caught, there are 19 others that get away with it.
airrunwesker at 08:41 AM JST - 7th March

PepinGalarga re: "for every one that gets caught, there are 19 others that get away with it." The teacher must have had this planned for some time... I assume the outfit belonged to him, and assume it was a perfect fit for her. I do not think there are 19 other related stories as creepy as this one...
pawatan at 10:19 AM JST - 10th March

Under 20 = Child.

Don't forget, it's totally legal for an 18-19 year old to appear in pornography in this country. And pretty much every other country where pornography is legal. The fact that she is a legal 'child' isn't the issue at all.

The issue as I see it is just an abuse of power by a teacher. Teachers should not be allowed to intimidate a student into doing something for a grade.

If the teacher has a generally good record and is apologetic, I see no need to fire him, though. People need to be allowed to make mistakes as long as they own up to them and try not to make them again. The photos have been deleted, the teacher has been reprimanded. Sounds like issue closed to me.
Vagante at 11:17 AM JST - 10th March

If he had asked her to dress up in a highschool girl's uniform instead of as a maid, he would have got similar photos and might have avoided the attention of the raging mob.

Doesn't this story smack of discrimination against maids? They do a useful job and are pleased to have the work.
airrunwesker at 07:51 AM JST - 11th March

pawatan... 20 is the legal age.

No need to fire him... Hmmm. I agree! I think the punishment should fit the crime. Why not have him teach in a Maid outfit for one semester...\ and a little dance would not hurt!
Blue_Tiger at 04:37 PM JST - 11th March

Interesting how it becomes "just a joke" when the victim in quesiton has the guts to go to the police. The fact that this guy is allowed to keep teaching is a disgrace....