Japanese elementary and middle school teachers “organized secret filming and molesting female students” exposed

According to reports from Japanese media such as Tokyo Broadcasting Corporation, the organized secret filming and molesting of girls by several Japanese primary and secondary school teachers was recently exposed. The Japanese police arrested the main members of the organization. At a press conference on the 27th, Japan’s Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Toshiko Abe said that she was “very angry” about the incident and said “this is absolutely unacceptable.”

According to Japanese media reports, this group of about 10 Japanese primary and secondary school teachers has existed for more than a year. They share illegal photos or videos they secretly took during working hours through chat software. About 70 videos or photos were uploaded in the group chat. The group chat is managed by Yuji Moriyama (42 years old), a teacher at Nagoya Municipal Elementary School, who is also the person who uploads photos or videos most frequently in the group chat. According to reports, Yuji Moriyama was just promoted to “key teacher” in April this year, and before that he had already started illegal acts such as secretly filming. In addition, prosecutors said that another member of the gang, Shota Mizuto (34 years old), a teacher at Nagoya Municipal Elementary School, had also committed extremely bad indecent acts against students.

According to reports, several gang members including Yuji Moriyama have been arrested by the police. They teach in schools in Nagoya or Yokohama. The Nagoya and Yokohama City Boards of Education have apologized for the incident. Nagoya Mayor Ichiro Hirosawa said on the 25th, “As the head of the municipal government, I am really sorry for this incident. No matter how I apologize, it is not enough. The city government can only do its best to rectify it now.”

In response to this incident, Japan’s Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Toshiko Abe said on the 27th, “It is extremely regrettable that this incident has damaged the trust in teachers.” She also said, “I feel very angry when I think of the children who were victimized and other teachers who work hard every day. This kind of thing is absolutely unacceptable.”

According to the report, affected by the incident, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan sent guidance documents to boards of education across Japan, requiring the implementation of teacher regulations aimed at preventing sexual violence against schoolchildren, and held online meetings to directly guide the heads of local education departments.