Japan started a database in 2023 of teachers who lost their positions for sex crimes against students. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
TOKYO (The Straits Times/ANN): The number of public school teachers in Japan punished for sex-related offences in its most recent fiscal year rose to 320, a record high, according to a survey by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology released on Dec 20.
The survey, first reported in Japanese media, included school principals, teachers and dormitory supervisors at public institutions who received disciplinary action in the school year starting in April 2023 and ending March 2024.
Nearly half of the 320 were found guilty of sexual violence against children, with 155 dismissed from their positions and two others receiving suspensions.
Around 100 were disciplined for lewd or obscene acts. At least 17 violated the Child Pornography Prohibition Act, while more than 30 were guilty of molestation or voyeurism.
In a sign of the vulnerability students experience, more than half of the offences were committed by school staff at the school where they worked, according to the education ministry.
Most incidents were found to involve junior high school students, with those in Japan typically aged 13 to 15.
The number of school staff punished marked a rise of 79 from the previous school year, with the education ministry noting that the increase came despite a law on preventing sexual violence by educational personnel coming into force in April 2022. The law necessitates the local authorities to conduct sex assault prevention training for school employees.
A database of teachers who lost their jobs for committing obscenities against children was started in April 2023. Those on the list are restricted from returning to teaching positions.
The ministry has acknowledged the need to strengthen its measures to prevent sexual offences against students amid more education employees being punished.
A lawyer familiar with sex crimes, Ms Sakura Uetani, told Japanese daily Yomiuri Shimbun there is likely to be an increase in complaints as more local governments have set up consultation counters for reporting such crimes.
Earlier in December, a junior high school principal in Tokyo was sentenced to nine years in prison for sexually assaulting and injuring a 14-year-old at a school he formerly worked at, the NHK reported.
The 57-year-old was charged in 2023, nearly 13 years after the crime, after other students made a report to the local authorities. Investigators discovered video footage of his victim and another student in his possession. - The Straits Times/ANN
