Media move on sexual abuse

TOKYO — Female journalists in Japan said on Tuesday they were teaming up to fight sexual harassment in the media, believed to be widespread in a country where the #MeToo movement has been slow to take off.

A total of 86 women journalists have come together to form the Women in Media Network Japan to expose harassment and abuse, said Yoshiko Hayashi, a freelancer who formerly worked at the masscirculation Asahi Shimbun newspaper.

“Unfortunately, discrimination against women and sexual harassment still exist among the people and entities we cover,” she said, reading a statement from the group on its establishment.

“Many women in journalism felt it difficult to raise their voice out of embarrassment and fears that it would destroy the relationship with their contacts,” she added.

“We were the whose voices unheard.”

The issue hit the headlines recently after the Finance Ministry admitted its top bureaucrat harassed a female reporter in an incident believed to be the tip of iceberg.

The reporter, with Japan’s TV Asahi, blew the whistle and Hayashi said the group had been encouraged by her refusal to suffer in silence.

“We are resolved that now is the time to eradicate sexual harassment and any other human rights infringement,” Hayashi said.

Japan now faces a “watershed” moment on ending harassment, she said, noting that many of the group’s members were staying anonymous to avoid criticism and embarrassment as their abusers were still in the workplace in some cases. people were

Bearing the curse

Claims from the members included being kissed, groped, forced to dance cheek-to-cheek and being propositioned for sex, among others.

“Male bosses protect men who sexually harass their subordinates — this is rampant in Japanese society,” said one journalist who is in her 30s.

“In 20 years as a reporter, I have been subject to various sexual harassments but I never told any of them to any one,” added another.

“I couldn’t tell my family either as they had opposed my being a reporter ... How many more years or how many more decades do we continue to bear this curse? Let’s end it now,” said a third.

The Finance Ministry came under fire for its handling of the allegations against Junichi Fukuda, who stepped down over the reporter’s claim but continues to deny wrongdoing.

His retirement package was eventually reduced as a punishment. But when reports of Fukuda’s alleged misconduct first emerged in a weekly magazine, Finance Minister Taro Aso appeared to dismiss them, saying he had discussed the issue with his top bureaucrat and had no plans to investigate.

An uproar ensued and the ministry was forced to backtrack, though it earned additional criticism for calling on affected women to come forward to its lawyers.