On September 29, the Ministry of Defense admitted to sexually harassing Rina Gonoi, 23, a former Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) officer who had requested an investigation into claims that she was sexually harassed during training, and held a press conference to apologize in person. Last August, Ms. Gonoi was sexually harassed by three male officers stationed in Koriyama, Fukushima Prefecture, who pushed her down and repeatedly pressed their pubic areas against her. A Defense Ministry official apologized to Ms. Gonoi, saying, “We deeply apologize and offer our apologies to Mr. Gonoi, who has suffered for a long time.
When we spoke to Japanese government officials after reading this article, they began to talk, saying, “It seems like a government agency’s response is seen at every corner.
In Japan’s executive branch, there is a hierarchical system of hierarchy, with career and non-career employees, superiors and subordinates, and so on.
While hierarchical relationships in the workplace are the same worldwide, one thing in particular in Japan is that “when one becomes a superior, one becomes pompous and behaves arrogantly” and “there are many executives who engage in power harassment.
This is partly born from the idea that “What’s wrong with giving subordinates some of the guidance that has been given to me by my superiors? In some cases, this is born from the idea that “What is wrong with giving subordinates some of the guidance they have been given by their superiors? Also, some executives who graduate from elite universities, enter government ministries, and rise through the ranks to become politicians, such as prime ministers, are more conspicuous in showing off their high positions. As the Japanese saying goes, “the fox that borrows the tiger’s authority,” and this is true in the case of those who are close to the top executives, they exert high pressure on their subordinates.
Sometimes this is described as “political power,” which can be used to get ahead if used properly. They can also use their political power to skip over people they dislike.
Among the ministries, the National Police Agency and the Ministry of Defense are probably the most strict in terms of hierarchy. Both have a military-like tradition and a “gymnastic” hierarchical structure that requires absolute obedience to orders from superiors.
One particular problem is that when a person is ordered by his or her superior to rewrite a document, the responsibility for the rewrite falls on the person who first wrote the document, the chief editor.
The boss’s corrections must be rewritten even if the content is unwilling. This system makes the chief writer weep. Moreover, the chief writer is held responsible. In other words, if you are the boss, you can write anything you want, and your subordinates will take responsibility. However, if this works out, the credit is taken away from you. Incidentally, I heard of a project initiated by the supervisor of a team seconded to the police department that ran into trouble. As soon as a mistake was made, the supervisor told the subordinate, “This project was my idea, and I am not responsible for it. The supervisor told the subordinate, “I initiated this project, and the supervisor is not responsible for it,” and to write down the details. In addition, I have heard of a case in which a supervisor included an unnecessary word in a minister’s presentation, causing the minister to make a problematic comment, and the lead writer was sent to a regional office to take responsibility for the mistake, while the supervisor who added the word was not penalized.
On the other hand, this problem also extends to sexual harassment. A certain number of men working in government offices are under stress and are prone to sexual problems. I have heard that there have been cases of men stalking women, persistently inviting them out for drinks, getting them pregnant and having them have abortions, and in one case a man committed suicide. There have also been many cases of public servants who have taken voyeuristic photos or molested women on trains.
Recently, Junichi Fukuda, the administrative vice minister of the Ministry of Finance, famously abused his position to ask a female reporter from TV Asahi, “May I squeeze your boobs? and other such comments to a female reporter from TV Asahi. He resigned because the issue became public, but what happens when the incident is not made public?
In such a case, the male perpetrator in the government office cries to his boss and tries to rub the matter out. Or, they treat the case as if it had never happened in the first place. This is the Japanese government’s signature “cover up what smells bad.
It will be a long time before sexual and power harassment is eliminated in Japan’s male-dominated government offices.
I hope that the #MeToo movement will be raised as a result of this incident. This will help to clean up government offices. In a society where government offices are silent unless they are made public, I hope that victims will speak out and make their voices heard.