Nagoya City to investigate 21 teachers and staff. Reports of “watching students in swimsuits” and “making them sit on their laps”

Following a case in which elementary school teachers allegedly shared images of children taken secretly in a social media group chat, the investigative committee set up by Nagoya City announced on the 12th how it handled information received from teachers and other staff members. It will launch an investigation into 23 cases involving 21 teachers and other staff members, as they are suspected of having sexual interest in children and students.

According to the committee, the cases include 7 reports involving 6 elementary school staff, 12 reports involving 11 junior high staff, and 4 reports involving 4 high school staff. Reported concerns included “glancing at children in swimsuits” and “making children sit on their laps.” The committee stated there was no new information directly tied to the original social media group chat case, nor were there incidents requiring calling police.

The council, made up of external experts, called on approximately 17,000 faculty and staff in all municipal schools to gather information on suspected cases of sexual violence. After the meeting, the city's Board of Education announced plans to set up a new project team to consider measures to prevent recurrence.