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 find it 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."
