Cram school teacher arrests ignite child safety debate

The arrest of two Yotsuya Otsuka cram school teachers in western Tokyo for allegedly taking photos of a female student's underwear and sharing them on a social media group chat has sparked debate about how to protect children from sexual misconduct.

According to investigators, Narumi Nakamura, 26, allegedly had a 7-year-old elementary school student stand on a chair when they were alone in the room for a lesson. Colleague Sosho Mori, 24, who had previously been arrested for taking inappropriate photos of other girls, took pictures with his smartphone from underneath the student's skirt, they said.

The Metropolitan Police Department also served a separate arrest warrant to Mori for accessing students' personal information in the Yotsuya Otsuka database and sharing names, addresses and where they go to school in the group chat, in violation of the personal information law.

Yotsuya Otsuka, a cram school for students studying for junior high school entrance exams, is also facing charges over lax personal information management, with the case sent to prosecutors.

“Because the student was cute, I couldn’t win against my sexual desires,” Mori was quoted as saying by the police, adding that he thought the leaked information would make it easier for group chat members to fantasize about the girl.

Mori and Nakamura were also allegedly “excited” over plans to choose their next target, the police said.

The arrests come amid ongoing discussions over legislation aimed at establishing a system similar to Britain's Disclosure and Barring Services (DBS). Under Japan's version of the system, candidates for teaching and other jobs involving work with children would have to go through a screening process to ensure they do not have a history of sexual abuse.

But some experts are unsure whether the legislation would be effective, especially in cases occurring at cram schools.

Japan’s version of DBS has been deliberated among a government panel of experts, as well as the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.

However, the proposed draft bill makes background checks mandatory for schools and day care centers, but not for cram schools like Yotsuya Otsuka.

Ruling party lawmakers have criticized the bill — which was initially planned to be submitted to an extraordinary parliamentary session to be convened later this month — and said it should be expanded to cover more professions.

Wataru Ohashi, an associate professor specializing in the study of child sex offenders at Aichi Medical University Hospital, expressed similar concerns.

“Even though it’s meant for teachers and workers ... it won’t be mandatory for cram schools or sports or swimming clubs,” Ohashi said. “If that’s the case, incidents like the latest (one) can’t be prevented.”

Furthermore, after examining around 6,000 news articles about child sexual abuse cases from 1985 to 2023, Ohashi found that there were only two clear instances where individuals, one day care worker and one teacher, had a history of similar offenses.

“The DBS only lists those who have been previously arrested (repeat offenders), and it does not prevent first-time offenders, who make up the vast majority — or almost all — of the perpetrators,” Ohashi said.

“Introduction of DBS may have a certain effect of deterrence,” Ohashi said. “But the DBS system alone will not be enough to solve the problem.”