NAGOYA -- Local education boards across Japan are strengthening measures to curb voyeurism at schools, including the introduction of devices to detect hidden cameras, after six teachers were arrested.

Following an incident where a group of teachers allegedly shared voyeuristic images of female students in a group chat on social media, six teachers in Tokyo, Hokkaido, Aichi and Kanagawa prefectures were arrested from late June. In response, education boards and other organizations across various regions are enhancing measures to protect children, including conducting independent investigations and introducing hidden camera detection equipment.

"It is absolutely unacceptable for teachers to take sexual images of students. We believe that the appointing authorities will handle this matter strictly," stated Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi during a news conference on June 25, the day after Aichi Prefectural Police's juvenile division arrested teachers from municipal schools in Nagoya and Yokohama on suspicion of violating the law against taking sexually suggestive images.

The appointing authorities for public school teachers are the education boards of each prefecture or ordinance-designated city. In a move urging strict action, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology issued a notice July 1 to all education boards nationwide, demanding stringent anti-voyeurism measures and strict punishments.

In July, the Nagoya Municipal Board of Education established a rule prohibiting teaching staff from bringing smartphones into classrooms in principle. They are also considering introducing detection equipment for hidden cameras at schools this academic year.

Additionally, the Nagoya Municipal Government is scrutinizing information gathered from approximately 17,000 municipal school staff. They are investigating 21 individuals, including teachers, suspected of displaying inappropriate sexual interest in students, engaging in private interactions or conducting inappropriate guidance, with plans to compile the results by the end of the year.

The Yokohama Municipal Board of Education issued an urgent directive at the end of June to about 500 schools, including municipal elementary and junior high schools, to conduct inspections to uncover any suspicious devices installed in schools. In July, they established a third-party committee of five experts, including a criminologist, to consider the deployment of equipment used to search for hidden cameras in schools and management methods for personal smartphones.

In Hokkaido, before any arrests were made in the series of incidents, the education boards of Hokkaido and its capital city Sapporo conducted training for all school staff in July, urging an emergency inspection for suspicious cameras. In September, they issued a notice to generally prohibit people from bringing in devices with recording capabilities, such as smartphones, into classrooms and gymnasiums where students were active.

Later, a teacher at a municipal school in Chitose, Hokkaido, was arrested on suspicion of violating the law against taking sexually suggestive images. On Oct. 8, Toshiaki Nakajima, superintendent of the Hokkaido Prefectural Board of Education, announced plans to introduce hidden camera detection devices in schools this academic year.

According to sources close to the investigation, about 10 teachers from various regions are believed to have been part of the group chat, sharing images such as a girl in her underwear and exchanging comments like, "I envy such opportunities." The six arrested individuals had over 30 victims, and Aichi Prefectural Police are working to uncover the full extent of the cases.

(Japanese original by Kenta Oka, Nagoya News Department)

Measures against voyeurism at Japan schools bolstered after 6 teachers arrested