Tag - sexual-harassment

 
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July 04, 2026
 

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SEXUAL HARASSMENT

A labor ministry official was convicted Tuesday for stalking a female subordinate and illegally entering her home.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 30, 2026
Labor ministry official convicted over stalking and trespassing
Tokyo District Court handed down its ruling on Atsushi Takabayashi, 39, who had been on leave since his indictment.
A 39-year-old male employee at the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare has been indicted on charges of stalking a subordinate in her 20s, sources have said.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 25, 2026
Health ministry worker indicted for stalking subordinate
According to the prosecution, the health ministry worker repeatedly messaged his subordinate, secretly photographed her and entered her home without permission.
Self-Defense Forces personnel stand guard at the entrance of the Defense Ministry in Tokyo.
JAPAN
Jun 23, 2026
Harassed GSDF member’s PTSD recognized as on-duty illness
Since joining in 2006, the male member said he had been forced by several senior colleagues to wear women’s clothing and to expose his lower body.
A former prosecutor using the pseudonym Hikari, who accused her boss of rape, demands an independent panel to be launched during a protest in Tokyo on May 29.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 7, 2026
Prosecutors across Japan to be surveyed for harassment
The supreme office issued related instructions to local prosecutor offices across the country last month and plans to compile a report by the end of fiscal 2026.
According to the survey results, around 60% of respondents said they felt “dissatisfied” or “uncomfortable” during questioning by police and prosecutors.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 7, 2026
Survey shows 93% of sex-crime survivors want more done to stop victim-blaming
Results of the survey show close to two-thirds of respondents said they felt “dissatisfied” or “uncomfortable” during questioning by police and prosecutors.
About half of the sexual abuse cases occurred during one-on-one interactions between patients and staff.
JAPAN
Apr 29, 2026
Some 15% of hospitals in Japan report sexual abuse
The survey by the Children and Families Agency, the first of its kind, was conducted online between December 2025 and January 2026.
A Japanese prosecutor, who uses the pseudonym Hikari, speaks during a news conference in Tokyo on March 31. Hikari alleges she was raped by her former boss, the former head of the Osaka District Public Prosecutor's Office.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 28, 2026
Prosecutor who accused boss of rape to resign after request for probe rejected
Very few women in Japan speak out about sexual assault, but the prosecutor came forward in 2024 to accuse Osaka’s then-top prosecutor of raping her six years earlier.
A Pronto employee cleans a house in New Delhi
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Apr 15, 2026
In India, $1 housekeepers spark a consumer, worker frenzy despite safety risks
The craze among consumers and workers is tempered by concerns about women’s safety in a country with ⁠high rates of sexual harassment.
Nonprofit Masimanyane Women’s Rights International holds a workshop in East London, South Africa.
WORLD / Society
Mar 14, 2026
African countries consider ‘vice taxes’ to help fill USAID cuts
As the momentum for funding health initiatives slows down, African governments are exploring ways to minimize reliance on foreign donors.
Mio Washizu, deputy governor of Fukui Prefecture, says she is able to balance work, housework and childcare by not seeking to manage everything on her own.
JAPAN / Society
Mar 8, 2026
Fukui deputy governor leading women’s empowerment in scandal-mired prefecture
Mio Washizu moved to Fukui with her children despite concern over the burden of housework and childcare falling solely on her.
As workplace relationships have become increasingly diverse, companies are under greater pressure to maintain appropriate relationships among employees, and also with customers and job-hunting students.
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
Mar 4, 2026
40 years on, Japan steps up fight against workplace harassment
This year marks four decades since the equal employment opportunity law came into force, and 20 years since employers were required to take measures to prevent sexual harassment.
A prosecutor holds a news conference in Tokyo’s Chiyoda Ward on Monday after submitting a written request to establish a third-party committee to investigate possible harassment among prosecutors nationwide.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 3, 2026
Prosecutor in Japan calls for third-party harassment probes nationwide
The written request from the prosecutor called for a third-party committee to conduct a fact-finding survey on harassment among prosecution staff nationwide.
A prosecutor speaks during a news conference in the city of Osaka on Tuesday after suing the state for damages related to a sexual assault case involving a former head of the Osaka District Public Prosecutor's Office.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Feb 18, 2026
Japan prosecutor sues state over sexual assault by boss
The prosecutor said her life “has been chipped away by the prosecution organization’s terrible response over the past two years since reporting the assault.”
Files released by the U.S. Department of Justice show how convicted U.S. sex offender Jeffrey Epstein sought to build ties with Russia's political elite.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Feb 18, 2026
Putin, women, favors: Epstein’s Russia connections
The convicted U.S. sex offender sought to build ties with Russia’s elite and appeared desperate to secure a meeting with President Vladimir Putin.
A photorealistic image generated by the artificial intelligence chatbot Grok of a journalist is shown on a phone’s screen on Jan. 22
BUSINESS / Tech
Feb 3, 2026
Despite new curbs, Elon Musk’s Grok at times produces sexualized images
Elon Musk’s flagship artificial intelligence chatbot, Grok, continues to generate sexualized images of people even when users explicitly warn that the subjects do not consent.
In December, the number of Fuji Television's sponsors recovered to 86% of the level a year earlier.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 29, 2026
Fuji TV regains 80% of sponsors, a year on from scandal
Following a management renewal, sponsors began to slowly resume commercials in the summer.
Rina Gonoi speaks during a news conference in Tokyo after reaching a settlement in a lawsuit concerning sexual assault within the Ground Self-Defense Forces, on Monday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jan 27, 2026
Government settles case over sex assault of ex-SDF member
The state will pay ¥1.6 million, or more than $10,000, to Rina Gonoi, but no compensation payment or apology was offered by her former colleague, her lawyer Aiko Ota said.
The recent rollout of an editing feature on Grok, developed by Elon Musk's startup xAI and integrated into X, allowed users to alter online images of real people with simple text prompts such as "put her in a bikini" or "remove her clothes."
BUSINESS / Tech
Jan 23, 2026
Musk’s Grok created 3 million sexualized images within days, research says
They include 23,000 that appear to depict children, the Center for Countering Digital Hate says.
Then-Fukui Gov. Tatsuji Sugimoto speaks during a news conference in November.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jan 7, 2026
Former Fukui governor’s actions could be seen as sexual assault, lawyers say
Former Gov. Tatsuji Sugimoto even messaged four female prefectural workers to the point they feared checking their phones, according to a government report.
Grok, a chatbot developed by xAI, has faced criticism over the rollout of a tool that allows users to request images of a subject with their clothes removed.
WORLD
Jan 6, 2026
‘Remove her clothes’: Global backlash over Grok sexualized images
The tool on social media platform X prompted swift probes or calls for remedial action from countries including France, India and Malaysia.
‘My dream is broken’: Japan visa rules push out foreign residents
A man orders from a kebab shop in the Okubo district in Tokyo.
Japan triples departure tax in push to combat overtourism
Tourists in Yanaka Ginza, Tokyo, on Wednesday. Japan tripled its International Tourist Tax (departure tax) to ¥3,000 from ¥1,000 on Wednesday for all travelers leaving Japan, regardless of nationality.
Japanese-language education is at a turning point
The country is gradually transforming Japanese-language education from a volunteer-driven system into a professional, government-supported network to better serve its growing foreign population. 
Japan’s princesses face life-altering legal revisions
Princess Aiko, the daughter of Emperor Naruhito, said in a 2022 news conference upon coming of age that she hopes to “spend a long time together” with her parents.
Japan plans to sharply raise fees for residence permits from October
Foreign tourists walk on the path leading to the Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto in May.
Iran war exposed, but hasn’t changed, Japan’s reliance on imported oil
Wind turbines generate energy from strong easterly winds on the Shonai Plain in Yamagata Prefecture. Despite the oil crisis caused by conflict near the Strait of Hormuz, and concerns instability in the region could continue to impact supply and the price of imports, the administration of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi does not seem to be drawing on the war as a pretext to hasten progress toward Japan's renewable goals.
Six of the best: rikishi of note in each sumo division
Kazuma (right) faces off against future <i>yokozuna</i> Onosato during the All Japan Amateur Sumo Championships at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo in December 2020.
Some startups see opportunity in an aging Japan
Yasmin Baba, CTO of Amilis, wins the Grand Prize at the Pitch2Tokyo Grand Final on Feb. 19.
Japan’s fertility system offers few safe paths for same-sex couples
A Tokyo Pride parade participant holds a sign that says "we want to be a married couple, not a couple."
Life inside Japan’s largest prison for women
Western-style rooms spanning the size of four tatami mats with hardwood floors, a toilet and soft mattresses on bed frames are designated for foreign nationals and those with health conditions at Tochigi Prison.

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