Japan's 86 female journalists unite, form group to expose sexual harassment and abuse at work place

Tokyo: Many female journalists in Japan said on Tuesday that they were teaming up to fight sexual harassment in the media industry as it is believed to be widespread in the country. The #MeToo movement has been slow to take off in Japan.

''A total of 86 women journalists have come together to form the Women in Media Network Japan (WiMN) to expose harassment and abuse," said Yoshiko Hayashi, a freelancer who formerly worked at the mass-circulation Asahi Shimbun.

"Unfortunately, discrimination against women and sexual harassment still exists among the people and entities we cover," she said, reading a statement from the group on its establishment.

"Many women in journalism felt that it was difficult to raise their voice due to embarrassment. They also feared that it would destroy the relationship with their contacts," she added.

"We were the people whose voices were unheard."

The issue hit the headlines recently after the finance ministry admitted its top bureaucrat had harassed a female reporter. This is believed to be the tip of iceberg.

The reporter with Japan's TV Asahi was the whistle—blower and this helped in their refusal to suffer in silence, said Hayashi

"We are resolved that now is the time to eradicate sexual harassment and any other human rights infringement," sh further added.

The ministry came under fire for its way of handling the allegations against Junichi Fukuda, who stepped down over the reporter's claim but continues to deny wrongdoing.

His retirement package was eventually reduced as a punishment, but when reports of Fukuda's alleged misconduct had first emerged in a weekly magazine, Finance Minister Taro Aso appeared to dismiss them, saying that he had discussed the issue with his top bureaucrat and had no plans to investigate.

An uproar over the claims ensued and the ministry was forced to backtrack.

TV Asahi, one of the nation's major networks, publicly acknowledged that one of its reporters was a victim and that her boss had failed to act when she initially complained about the harassment.

The finance minister has voiced his concern over "Fukuda's human rights" in the midst of accusations and said there is no such criminal charge as sexual harassment.

He has also said that the bureaucrat fell victim to a "honey trap" by the female reporter though he later retracted the remark.

The scandal and the ministry's perceived mishandling of the allegations have provoked a public outcry leading some to suggest the #MeToo movement against sexual harassment was finally impacting Japan.

Japan ranked bottom among the G7 countries in the World Economic Forum's latest "Global Gender Gap Report", coming 114th worldwide.

It also scored poorly on women's participation in the economy and political involvement.