A vice minister of a major government ministry became unable to fulfill his work duties due to allegations of sexual harassment. It can be said that resigning was the only option left.
Administrative Vice Finance Minister Junichi Fukuda has announced his intention to step down over the allegations. National Tax Agency Commissioner Nobuhisa Sagawa recently resigned over a dubious sale of state-owned land to school operator Moritomo Gakuen, meaning there will soon likely be the extraordinary situation of two vice-minister level posts having become vacant.
An article in the Shukan Shincho weekly magazine led to Fukuda's resignation. The article claimed Fukuda repeatedly made sexually suggestive remarks, such as, "May I touch your breasts?" to several female reporters. Audio recordings of some of Fukuda's comments have been released.
Sexual harassment is a grave violation of human rights. If the allegations against Fukuda are true, his actions were completely unforgivable.
Fukuda has consistently denied the allegations made in the article. He indicated he is preparing to file a lawsuit against Shinchosha Publishing Co. on the grounds that the article is defamatory. Despite these denials, TV Asahi Corp. has announced that one of its female reporters was sexually harassed by Fukuda.
If Fukuda intends to deny the allegations to the bitter end, there might be no choice but to leave it up to the courts to determine the truth.
Ministry response poor
The Finance Ministry's handling of this matter is incomprehensible. The ministry issued a request, in the name of a deputy vice minister, to media organizations that employ the alleged harassment victims to cooperate in an investigation. The ministry said if any women had been harassed, they should come forward by name through a legal office entrusted by the ministry to investigate the matter.
Lodging a complaint of sexual harassment requires courage. That is even more the case when the alleged perpetrator has shown they are prepared to file a lawsuit. Adding to this, the mental burden of coming forward to a legal office on the ministry's side would be considerable. The ministry's investigation method can only be described as devoid of consideration for the victims.
Reporters need to protect the anonymity of their news sources. Coming forward by name would be the same as revealing a source. The press club concerned has been quite right to refuse to cooperate with the investigation, which it labeled "unacceptable."
The TV Asahi reporter had often been subjected to verbal sexual harassment by Fukuda beginning a year and a half ago. She recorded their conversations "to protect herself." The reporter discussed the harassment with her superior, but was told that "reporting it would be difficult." It is said that she provided the audio data to Shukan Shincho because doing nothing would be tacitly approving of the harassment.
A major principle of journalism is that information gleaned during news-gathering is used only for reporting by one's own media organization. The reporter's action of providing the recordings to an external party is, in terms of journalism ethics, unforgivable.
A person being interviewed does so on the assumption it will be reported by the media outlet to which the reporter belongs. The reporter's actions could harm relationships of trust crafted by the media.
TV Asahi's response to the harassment also cannot be overlooked. When it was first told about the harassment claims, it seems that the company should have taken action through such means as lodging a complaint with the ministry.
The broadcaster, it must be said, lacked the proper attitude of both protecting its reporter and having them strictly follow reporting rules.
(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, April 20, 2018)
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