While the government wraps its head around sexual misconduct embroiling a finance official, social unrest deepens.
On Tuesday, top Finance Ministry bureaucrat Junichi Fukuda formally resigned over allegations of having sexually harassed female journalists. The government’s response has drawn widespread criticism, exposing the country’s woeful attitude toward tackling sexual harassment.
Fukuda, 58, who served as administrative vice finance minister discussed his intention to step down last week. But after an intense media frenzy, he abruptly came to the decision to resign, citing “increased difficulty in carrying out vice minister duties” on top of the Moritomo Gakuen-related scandals plaguing the Finance Ministry.
An Asahi TV news reporter broke her silence earlier this month by airing a secretly recorded audio conversation on the homepage of local weekly magazine, Shukan Shincho. Based on the recording Fukuda made sexually suggestive comments, asking the reporter “Can I give you a hug?”, “Can I touch your breasts?”, and “Can I give you a kiss?”
Fukuda has denied the accusations and insisted it was hard to distinguish whether the voice on the recording was his own. In a last ditch appeal, Fukuda spoke against sexual harassment, saying, “We must make it easier for women to work. Sexual harassment is out of the question. If this environment isn’t established I want it to be discussed in parliament.”
The Asahi journalist spoke out after being confronted by repeated sexual comments from Fukuda during face-to-face interviews starting a year and a half ago. During the middle of a meeting over dinner and drinks, the journalist says after sexual comments began again she resorted to recording the meeting for self-protection.
Finance Minister and Vice Prime Minister Taro Aso has defended Fukuda, saying that “it was deeply regrettable he is stepping down over sexual harassment allegations.
