Workplace Dynamics - Sexual Assault

This article, "Job-hunting apps expose Japanese women to sexual assault" detailed an increasingly concerning issue; many students are using apps to connect with employees working for companies they would like to join, as this is more effective than going through traditional recruiters and other more university organized pathways, but for many female students these interactions have resulted in sexual harassment or assault from company employees. These dynamics seem to persist within the workplace; in a 2018 survey of 1,000 working women, 42.5% had experienced sexual harassment, but less than 40 percent reported the incident, showing that a significant amount of sexual harassment is undetected in Japan. A case from March brought this issue to light; a male Sumitomo employee was arrested on the basis of raping a female student after the two met during her visit to the company to seek job assistance.

Many proposed solutions seem to swirl around banning the use of matching apps and companies deciding to put restrictions on these meetings (no drinking, during the day, blah blah blah). But there was a huge driver of this issue missing; an outright statement regarding the clearly toxic gender dynamics in the workplace, and by extension in Japanese society. It seems that everything but is being blamed for the issues that are arising. If 42% of working women have experienced sexual harassment, banning matching apps seems a flimsy and misdirected attempt at a solution.

In the past, in Japan, women who have spoken out regarding sexual harassment and assault (especially in the wake of the #MeToo movement; see Shiori Ito, young journalist) have experienced extreme, often very verbally aggressive backlash. Furthermore, based on the account of one woman, she had experienced harassment many times in Japan such as groping and flashing, but had never thought to qualify it in that way (https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2018/01/06/national/social-issues/shifting-attitudes-toward-sexual-violence-japan/#.XOFvddMzZ0s). There is also a very different rhetoric surrounding consent in Japan - this article mentioned that the phrase "no doesn't always mean no" is commonplace (ibid).  It also indicated that in a previous survey, in a small group of women sampled who experienced assault, only 4% had reported forceful sexual acts to the police (this could be because there seems to be little done when reports are actually filed - only 37.2% of  those charged for rape are indicted). Additionally, as pointed out by this article, (https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20180923/p2a/00m/0na/005000c) as of 2018, there is actually nothing under Japanese law that prohibits harassment (putting Japan in the category of having some of the most lax harassment policies in the world) - though companies are required to have "measures to prevent" assault and harassment,  whatever that means.  Victim blaming is also quite prevalent, further discouraging people from reporting in the first place.

Looking more specifically at the workplace, the manner in which one becomes a successful employee in Japan is historically designed to benefit men - and works against women. “Japanese-style employment practices are characterized by seniority-based remuneration, lifetime employment, and company-based labor unions. As such, firms value length of employment over skills or performance when deciding on promotions and pay rises (https://www.nippon.com/en/features/c05604/dividing-the-sexes-the-modern-evolution-of-japanese-gender-roles-in-marriage.html)."  This structure (from the time of Showa Wives) makes it extremely difficult for women to rise up in companies while also having children and taking that time off of work. These values / this structure is entrenched in Japanese business culture, meaning that there are very few women at the top and many women concentrated at the bottom of companies (called vertical sex segregation). Big companies in Japan are  extremely reluctant to stray from tradition, and continue to prioritize the lifelong employment of male workers. (https://workinprogress.oowsection.org/2017/10/03/why-gender-inequality-persists-in-corporate-japan/)

To begin to address these continuing workplace imbalances and issues of sexual harassment/assault, seemingly rooted in Japanese corporate culture, there must be a large shift in societal mentality, greater legal support for victims, and more women at the top to support those working below them and experiencing discrimination. More and more women are calling for change, but Japan seems to be reluctant to give up historical power structures as the much of the world moves forward.