A 55-year-old male employee of the Osaka District Court has been questioned on suspicion of making unwelcome sexual advances toward a female coworker in a public park they drove to together in June, police said Wednesday.
The woman, who is in her 20s, filed a complaint with police Sept. 5 after consulting with the sexual harassment desk of the Osaka High Court, police said.
The man invited the woman to go for a drive in Suma Ward, Kobe, in June, according to police. He embraced and kissed her at a public park and again in a parking lot, they said.
The man, who is speaking to investigators voluntarily and has not been arrested, has owned up to most of the allegations and expressed remorse for his actions.
Police are expected to send his case to prosecutors.
An official of the district court's general affairs department expressed regret over the incident, saying, "We will seek to further cultivate awareness by our personnel about sexual harassment to prevent such incidents from happening again."
He said the department will consider later what action to take against the man.
The man, who worked in the same department as the woman at the time of the incident, has been transferred to a different division to "ensure a proper working environment in the office," the official said.