Stricter Curbs on Teacher Voyeurism Eyed in Japan

Tokyo, March 16 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s education ministry released on Monday a draft revision to operating guidelines for the law on preventing sexual misconduct against students by teachers, which calls for strengthening measures against voyeurism. The draft revision, drawn up in the wake of a secret photography incident involving a group of teachers, also clarified that educators who commit such acts should be given disciplinary dismissal. The change is expected to be formally adopted in fiscal 2026, which begins in April, following a public comment period. The education ministry has been examining issues and discussing possible guideline revisions based on a provision in the law, which took effect in 2022 and calls for a review three years later. Last year, authorities uncovered an incident in which seven teachers shared secretly filmed videos of female students in a social media group chat. The draft revision calls for inspections of classrooms, restrooms and changing rooms to ensure they are well organized and make it difficult to install hidden cameras, as well as to ensure that teachers do not take photos of students with their personal smartphones. It also notes the need to clarify data management rules for photos taken with work-issued devices. The revision scraps the phrase “in principle” from a clause in the current guidelines stating that teachers who commit indecent acts against children should be dismissed, to make clear that the penalty should be applied. Meanwhile, the education ministry found that 111, or about 14 pct, of all universities in Japan offering teacher training courses do not provide classes on sexual violence prevention as required by law. The ministry plans to address this by explicitly including sexual violence prevention in teacher training certification standards. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]