Japan's social view of sexual misconduct?

[John Lindsey]

Recently, an optometrist in Yokohama was arrested for forcing a 14-year-old girl to strip from the waist up in his eye-examination room. Rather than check her eyes, he touched her breasts. He claimed such touching was an aspect of his medical treatment.

In another story, a man was arrested on suspicion of sexually molesting a Canadian woman. When questioned by police about his encounter with this woman, he said he saw nothing criminal about it. Over 100 videotapes seized by police showing that he had drugged and raped as many as 50 unconscious Caucasian women at his home.

(information taken from the TokyoQ website at: http://www.nokia.co.jp/tokyoq/index.html )


We know that sexual crimes can happen in any country and culture, but my question is how these are treated in Japan. Are these kind of events brushed away and quickly forgotten or does the public demand action? For instance, are there laws allowing a community to know about known child molesters living in there area?

Years ago there was a Korean martial arts teacher in Austin Texas who raped a Korean who was either a student or assistant teacher. After she pressed charges, she was stunned by the lack of support from the local Korean community! I am not sure how the case turned out, but the guy's school did close down.

[Joseph Svinth]

According to published Japanese National Police documents, rape and sexual assault do not exist in Japan. (I think something like 2000 cases prosecuted in the entire country?)

[hyaku]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by John Lindsey
We know that sexual crimes can happen in any country and culture, but my question is how these are treated in Japan. Are these kind of events brushed away and quickly forgotten or does the public demand action? For instance, are there laws allowing a community to know about known child molesters living in there area?
..................
Sadly I have had some practical experience in this area.

I received a telephone call from another University professor to tell me that a friend of his had been sexually assualted and the attacker was one of my students. He had come up behind her in the dark and molested her. As he ran off she recognized him as someone she knew.

The girl was initially reluctant to go the police. But I said that she must do so. If the person in question was to escape, what would he do next.

He was arrested and admitted to it. He was let off on the basis that he wrote out a promise not to do this again.
This is not an isolated incidence.The person in question still lives in the area. The girl an American left the country in shame.

You will find similar and ever far worse incidents on Forums for westerners living in Japan.


Hyakutake Colin

[Earl Hartman]

Actually, I had a similar experience on a recent business trip to Japan. I was in a drugstore and a drunk went up to a young woman and fondled her buttocks. She was obviously distressed, but she wouldn't have done anything if I had not volunteered to accompany her to the local police box, which was quite close by. We followed the guy out into the street and pointed him out to the cops, who nabbed him. My guess is that they told him what a bad boy he was and let him off with a warning since he was absolutely stwewed to the gills. In addition, the young woman would probably have been subjected to public shame for making an issue out of it. In Japan, there still seems to be a common view that the women are still to blame for this sort of thing.