A survey of women working for Japanese newspapers and TV networks has found 156 cases of alleged sexual misconduct reported by 35 women, about one-third of
A survey of women working for Japanese newspapers and TV networks has found 156 cases of alleged sexual misconduct reported by 35 women, about one-third of which involved lawmakers, government officials and law enforcers, a researcher said Monday.
Osaka International University professor Mayumi Taniguchi, a gender studies expert, said the survey was prompted by a recent widely publicized case of alleged sexual mistreatment of a journalist by a senior Finance Ministry official.
She said another 40 percent of the cases reportedly occurred at the journalists’ workplaces and the remainder involved their news sources and others.
The April 21-30 survey was conducted shortly after the No. 2 Finance Ministry official resigned after being accused of making sexually suggestive remarks to a reporter, which he denied.
The survey found the alleged harassers tended to choose victims who were more vulnerable and likely to be intimidated.
In one case, Taniguchi said, a female reporter in her 30s at a national newspaper reported that the police chief at the location where she was assigned repeatedly made lewd remarks to her, and that fellow reporters were aware but tolerated them.
