Survey: Japanese female journalists report sexual misconduct

TOKYO – A survey of women working for Japanese newspapers and TV networks has found 156 cases of alleged sexual misconduct reported by 35 women, about one-third of which involved lawmakers, government officials and law enforcers.

Osaka International University Professor Mayumi Taniguchi, a gender studies expert, said Monday the survey was prompted by a recent widely publicized case of alleged sexual mistreatment of a journalist by a senior finance ministry official.

She said another one-third of the cases reportedly occurred at the journalists' workplaces and the remainder involved their news sources and others.

Awareness about sexual misconduct has been slow to develop in Japan.

Taniguchi said the survey shows some women are beginning to speak out but others are still hesitant because of pressure from supervisors or fear of losing their sources.