Japan Today - Shukan Post Watcher - Sexual harassment by teachers increasing

"Teacher B was my homeroom teacher in junior high school. He was very kind and I used to seek his advice even after I became a high school student. But one day, he took me to a love hotel and forced me to have sex with him. I was 15 back then. I couldn't talk to anyone about it, and couldn't erase the memory from my mind. It has been three years since then, and I am finally ready to talk about it," said Girl A, 18, who lives in Kanagawa Prefecture.

On Aug 9, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology released the findings of a report on sexual harassment by school teachers in Japan. Girl A's story is just the tip of the iceberg.

The findings show that 166 teachers in public elementary, junior and high schools faced disciplinary action due to sexual harassment in the 2004 school year. Of the total, 95 were fired, 30 were suspended, 9 had their salaries cut, 5 were given a warning and the remaining 27 resigned voluntarily.

The number of those who faced disciplinary action decreased by 16 compared to the year before, but the figure has substantially increased in the last 10 years. There were only about 30 cases in 1995.

Of the 166 cases, 46.4% of the victims were students, while 2.4% were graduates.

In two more cases publicized this year, a high school teacher in Fukuoka kissed and touched a student in January, while a high school teacher in Kanagawa was found to have had sex with a student for 3 1/2 years. Both teachers were fired.

Many victims have only recently come forward and talked about their emotional wounds. They are traumatized and have struggled with the pain for a long period of time. This was true for Girl A.

"My impression of him (the teacher) was that he was a kind teacher in my junior high school years," said Girl A. "He wasn't bossy, and the girls used to joke with him a lot. We used to ask him jokingly if he were still having sex with his wife. And he used to ask us if we ever had sex. It wasn't a very close relationship with him, though. For us, he was just one of the many teachers in the school."

However, the situation changed after Girl A's graduation. During her first summer vacation in high school, she revisited her old junior high school with two of her friends and created a closer relationship with the teacher. They eventually exchanged cell phone numbers and email addresses.

"One day we all decided to go to the beach in his car," said Girl A. "He put sun block on my back and helped pull me out of the water when I got into difficulties. But he was as old as my father, so I did not have any special feelings for him. Later on, when I visited him at his school to show him the pictures we had taken at the beach, he told me that I had big tits."

In the fall of 2002, Girl A was having problem with her part-time job, and she asked the teacher for advice. Usually, she spoke with him on the phone, but he told her to meet him in person for a talk. Thinking that he would listen to her problem in detail, she agreed.

"This was the first time that I saw him by myself. I was so caught up in my problem that I didn't know where he was taking me. When I found out that he had driven to a love hotel, I accepted his word that a hotel is the best place to talk in private due to its seclusion from the public," said Girl A.

However, once in the hotel, she felt uncomfortable and wanted to leave. But she reluctantly decided to stay as he insisted on talking about her problem. Plus, she had no idea where she was.

Once inside the room, the man changed. He hugged her with force. "I told him that my parents would be worried and asked him to take me home," said Girl A. But his response was to drag her onto the bed where he started to kiss her "like a beast," she recalls. "I was fighting back, but nothing worked and I finally gave up," said Girl A. "His eyes were threatening and his voiced turned low. He no longer had the laid-back style that he used to have. I was in fear as I watched and learned how much a man can change in his appearance depending on the occasion."

Concerned about STDs and getting pregnant, she requested him to put on a condom, but he refused. "So I told him no, but he then ordered me to do it orally. After all that was done, I felt more regret than fear and sorrow," she said. "It was regret because I failed to see what I was getting into."

The teacher emailed her on several occasion after the incident, but she refused to meet him ever again.

Girl A did not talk to anyone about it until February of 2003, when she decided to reveal the incident to their mutual friend. When the friend confronted the teacher, he simply said "Oh, that thing," and made no apology.

It was then that Girl A decided to take action. On July 26, 2005, she sent a letter to Kanagawa Gov Shigefumi Matsuzawa, outlining details of the incident, and on Aug 15, she filed assault charges with the police.

Asked to comment, a spokesman for the Kanagawa board of education said: "The complaint is being processed at the moment, so we can't make any comments or give out any information."

But a lawyer for the teacher said: "He denies taking the girl to a love hotel. He says he has been harassed by the girl."

The current principal of the school said: "I have heard about this case from the board of education. When I asked the teacher about it, he denied the incident ever took place. If it had happened now, there would be things I could do, but it happened three years ago before I became principal. If the case goes to court, the board of education has the right to determine the disciplinary action and I will respect their decision."

It has taken a lot of courage for Girl A to come out of the dark to reveal her past.

"Generally speaking, when teenage girls are raped, they findit hard to develop trust in men," said a therapist. "When a man approaches them, they tremble out of fear. If they were raped by someone whom they used to trust, like teachers, the emotional wound is even deeper. Such girls often stop attending school, and just stay at home. In some cases I have dealt with, the girls were still traumatized 7-8 years after the incident and were not able to fully function in society."

Commenting on the findings of their report, a spokesman for the education ministry said: "The reality is probably far worse than what the report shows." (Translated by Toshiya Fujii)

You should know me already, I like debates.

I don't know about your life in High school, but when I was going to High school in America, most of the students wanted sex.

Anyway, thank you for your own personal response.

It's very unpopular in America for High School students to have sex with there teachers, thats considered very unprofestional and crimminal for a teacher to do that, but it's very common for minors to date adults in America.

I'm just simply stating the truth, I'm a very liberal person, so I can understand many different aspects of people's lifes, many High school students lived the sameway I did.

In Japan, High school prostitution is also big, which America dosen't have that problem.

I don't have much details about it, but I heard the Yakuza recruit these girls from school.

There are many people that lived the life I did, and there doing great in society, I graduated from High school with Honors, and had a great job in the states and in Japan.

My parents were pretty cool, they understood life, and gave me and my sisters advice on safe sex and using condums.

None of my sisters got pregnant in High school like so many girls did, but now my sisters are all married with families, my parents were good, but very liberal, I got many thousands of lectures from my parents, sometimes for hours.

Not to get off the subject, but teachers having sex with students is a long social problem in Japan, maybe to them that makes up for no sex education classes in Japan.

I guess in Japan if a student wants to learn about sex, the teachers actually teaches them.
(^_^)

Truth

Your comment is vague and ambigous.

Which one is Rape, and the other not rape.

Question A: A High school teacher lures his student to a sex Hotel and forces her to have sex.

Question B: A school girl hates High school boys, she looks older then her age, and lies to an adult thats not her teacher inorder to date him.

Which one is rape? Who is the victim in both cases?

Truth

It'll prabably never make headlines ever again, and you know why?

Many Japanese teachers think the Public schools are only for full blood Japanese kids.

95% of Public school Japanese teachers in a survey expressed that English shouldn't be apart of the Public schools curriculum, or even taught at all.

The Japanese teachers rather teach bad broken English themselves, rather then have a native English teacher present in the classroom.

If you work for the Public schools, your getting alot of fake smiles from the Japanese teachers.

Truth

I think you have missed the point here. Teachers=Adult's, Student's=Children

No teacher, I don't care what the circumstances are, should have contact on any sexual level whatsoever with a student. It falls under ethics, which you learn in school and for the most part is mere common sense.

Also, the title of this is all wrong. When does rape become sexual harassment. It's like they lumped all forms of misconduct into one. How many of the 166 were rapes, where a teacher had sex with a student etc...

I gotta agree with kurama, a teacher should never date any of there students in there classroom.

When the girls try to sexually harass you, you have to ignore there sexual advances.

I don't think there's anything wrong with a teacher dating his student once she's an adult and graduates from High school, in America thats no problem if a student does that.

Once your 18 years old in America, you can date who you want, even your teacher when your out of the program, but teachers that do that are very discreet about it.

On the other hand, I understand what be "careful is trying to say", school girls do sexually harass teachers alot, and in certain circumstances, school girls should be responsible also if there taking part in sexually harassing a teacher.

A 16 year old girl isn't stupid, in old Texas, 13 year old boys got hanged for stealing cows and horses, that was the law.

Honestly, I don't think a teachers life should be ruined over some High school P....y.

But I would never put myself in that kind of situation, it just "SPELLS" trouble.

The Public schools outta start lowering them school girl dresses, when they sit down in Mc Donald's, you can see the P....y

The Boards should stop making them school girls ware those degrading uniforms.

Truth

And to back Truth1, those bottom-showing uniform are out of place and vulgar, the French law frobid minor to wear obscene miniskirt, it is considered as passive prostitution. The cops can catch the kid, bring it home and fine the parents. They can do what they want when they turn 20, but not before.

The problem is that uniform in school are a good idea, it level the field. But the japanese way perverted a perfectly good idea.

And to add to the trouble. Sailor uniform tend to "blend in" for people living since some time in Japan. I know that I dont pay any attention anymore. (Meanwhile the yamanba still scare the sh..t out of me). But for tourists it's new and eye catching, mixed with the schoolgirl prostitution problem (after all they have the outfit of prostitutes, why not taking the job) i'm surprised there is not more probleme related with "sexual tourism" inside japan.

Vietnamese traditionnal school uniforms are wonderfull and don't call for any trouble.

If only we can censor sailor uniform and uncensor movie pornography (porno was here since a loooong time people and never killed anyone)... life could be better.

Meanwhile, does anyone know wher i can buy a sailor uniform for my cat ? it's to make pictures like namennayo cards.

"porno was here since a loooong time people and never killed anyone)..."

>Perhaps not, but in those times I'm sure many women got raped and forced into prostitution for such things as Husband acquired too much debt and can't pay it back.

I agree with the school uniform, the skirts should be longer, however, this still doesn't justify sexual misconduct from an Adult towards a child.

I didn't know that you were a female, all this time I thought you were a guy.

My post was sarcastic, I actually like the school uniforms, but as for dating a school girl never X, thats nothing but trouble.

I wouldn't ruin my life over some little kid in a short skirt.(-_-)

JT, you should come up with a system showing whose female and male, since people on this forum communicate on subjects related to gender.

Truth

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