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Japan Moves to Toughen School Safeguards as Two Teachers Get Suspended Prison Terms

The education ministry proposes inspections for hidden cameras with formal adoption targeted for fiscal 2026 after public feedback.

Overview

  • A Nagoya court found Daiki Sawada and Keisuke Tsugeno guilty of taking and sharing indecent images of students, sentencing each to three years in prison suspended for five years.
  • Judge Megumi Murase called Sawada’s conduct an obvious and malicious abuse of his position, with the suspension granted after agreements on compensation and therapy.
  • Draft rules would require regular checks of classrooms, restrooms, and changing rooms to deter covert recording devices.
  • The proposals bar teachers from photographing students with personal smartphones and make dismissal mandatory for indecent acts against children.
  • The crackdown follows the arrest of seven Tokyo teachers last year, with official data showing 281 school staff disciplined for sexual offenses in FY2024 and a 2023 law criminalizing nonconsensual voyeuristic imaging.