A woman in her 30s has sued a former vice principal of a public elementary school in Toyama Prefecture for alleged sexual abuse and indecent acts she says were perpetrated against her nearly a quarter century ago when she was around 10 years old, her lawyer said Wednesday.

The woman filed the lawsuit with the Kanazawa District Court seeking compensation of approximately ¥11 million ($110,000) from the then-vice principal, now in his 80s, for mental suffering caused by his obscene behavior and frequent abuse, according to her written complaint.

According to the complaint, the science teacher used to summon the girl to a preparation room during classes, and then take off her clothes and touch her breasts and buttocks. He demanded she continue to meet him even after she left the school.

The harassment subsequently had a damaging effect on the girl's menstrual cycle, and she began to suffer from anxiety, due to which she is currently visiting a psychologist, the complaint says.

The statute of limitations for demanding compensation for illegal actions is 20 years under current law. But the lawyer is arguing that the 20-year limitation is not at play in this case because there is precedent from previous rulings where the statue of limitations started with the beginning of psychological symptoms caused by such acts.

The woman told her superior at work about her suffering in April. She applied for civil arbitration at the Toyama Summary Court, but the man in question did not appear, the woman's lawyer said.