281 Educators Disciplined for Sexual Misconduct in FY 2024

Tokyo, Dec. 22 (Jiji Press)–A total of 281 teachers and staff at kindergartens, public elementary, junior high and high schools in Japan were disciplined for sexual offenses in fiscal 2024, the education ministry said in a survey report on Monday. The figure was down 39 from the record high in fiscal 2023, but cases of indecent acts by the teachers and staff have continued to surface nationwide, prompting the ministry to step up preventive measures. The survey covered education boards of the country’s 47 prefectures and 20 government-designated cities and examined disciplinary actions, leaves of absence and related matters involving public school employees. Overall, 4,883 educators in kindergartens and public schools were subject to disciplinary action or formal reprimands, up 54 from the previous fiscal year. By reason, traffic violations and accidents accounted for the largest share, at 2,506 cases, followed by “inappropriate instruction,” including verbal abuse toward students, at 485, and corporal punishment, at 311. Among the 281 cases involving sexual crimes or sexual misconduct, 98 pct of those disciplined were men, according to the survey. More than 60 pct of the incidents involved acts against infants, children and students. In 48 pct of the cases, the misconduct occurred at the same school as the offender’s, while 11 pct involved a different school. The ministry plans to revise its basic guidelines on sexual violence by educators against students within the current fiscal year, which ends next March. “We want to thoroughly implement measures, such as the strict use of a database tracking past disciplinary actions,” a ministry official said. Separately, the survey found that 7,087 public school employees took leave due to mental illness in fiscal 2024, accounting for 0.77 pct of all educators in public schools. The number was nearly unchanged from the record high 7,119 in fiscal 2023, underscoring what the ministry described as a persisting and serious situation. The most common causal factors cited were issues directly related to student instructions, at 26.5 pct, followed by workplace interpersonal relationships, at 23.2 pct, and administrative duties, at 12.7 pct. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]