Japan Press Weekly

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2018 April 18 - 24 [POLITICS]

Lawmakers of 6 opposition parties call for protection of sexual harassment victim and TV Asahi

Parliamentarians of the Japanese Communist Party along with representatives of five opposition parties on April 20 submitted to the Finance Ministry a written statement criticizing the sexual harassment that a female journalist suffered from a top ministry official. They demanded an apology from the offender and the protection of the victim’s human rights.

The lawmakers also demanded that the government not unfairly deal with TV Asahi, which confirmed that one of its female reporters had been sexually harassed by the official in question and lodged a protest against the Finance Ministry.

JCP lawmakers Hatano Kimie, Motomura Nobuko, Kira Yoshiko, and Tatsumi Kotaro took part in the submission.

The opposition parties’ document points out that Finance Ministry Administrative Vice Minister Fukuda Jun’ichi, who was reported to have made erotic remarks to the female journalist, still denies the report and refuses to apologize. It criticizes Finance Minister Aso Taro for protecting Fukuda.

In a meeting held by the six opposition parties in the Diet building on the same day, a letter from the reporter was introduced. The message said, “Please be aware that countless female journalists including me have had to endure countless hardships.”

The reporter in the letter explained that many interviewees had often said to her, “Let’s have a kiss next time,” and “A female reporter is like a nightclub hostess.” She said that she should not have laughed away those remarks, but she had to do so with a smile on her face because it was her assignment to interview them.

She went on to say that acts of harassment similar to what Fukuda did take place on the front lines every day and that she has had no choice but to accept such abuses, locking the experiences in her heart.

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TV Asahi on April 19 sent to the Finance Ministry a written protest stating that the broadcaster’s female employee suffered sexual harassment from Fukuda on a considerable number of occasions and that this must not be overlooked. The document added that the employee experienced severe emotional shock and demanded that the Finance Ministry conduct a thorough investigation into the matter and publish the results as soon as possible.