Sexual harassment in Japanese armed forces

This video is called The Invisible War: New Film Exposes Rape, Sexual Assault Epidemic in U.S. Military.

Sexual harassment rampant in SDF

Of the 240,000 uniformed personnel serving in Japan’s Self-Defense Forces, 11,000 are women. It’s a difficult life, and rampant sexual harassment does not make it any easier, says Shukan Taishu (Jan 19).

A Defense Ministry survey released in August 2007 put the issue in a nutshell. Altogether, 3,704 servicewomen reported having experienced some form of sexual harassment—whether “forced sex” (3.4%), unwanted caresses (20%), or off-color joking (24%). That represents an overall improvement over the past 10 years, the magazine finds, though hardcore harassment seems to have risen.

Actress Hiromi Akitsuki, having spent some time serving in the Maritime Self Defense Force, shares her experiences with Shukan Taishu.

She describes the intense discipline of the four-month training period she went through, and the stress it placed on instant, unquestioning obedience to orders. One day, she says, she was on duty when a superior officer came by and asked, “Do you have a boyfriend?”

“No.”

“Well then,” said the officer, “you probably haven’t done it in a while. How about doing it with me?”

COMPANY THAT OWNS KAY JEWELERS AND JARED THE GALLERIA OF JEWELRY FACES MASSIVE SEXUAL HARASSMENT CASE “Declarations from roughly 250 women and men who worked at Sterling, filed as part of a private class-action arbitration case, allege that female employees at the company throughout the late 1990s and 2000s were routinely groped, demeaned and urged to sexually cater to their bosses to stay employed.” [WaPo]