In January 2025, Nakai Masahiro, a former member of the legendary J-Pop group SMAP, was revealed to have sexually harassed a female Fuji TV employee in 2023. He subsequently paid 90 million yen (approximately $ 568,101 USD) to the woman.
This scandal further unraveled the horrifying reality of Japanese women in the workforce, the majority of whom have to face sexual harassment in the workplace. After Masahiro’s controversy, Fuji TV also came under fire for allegedly sexually harassing its employees. The network allegedly pressured its female announcers routinely to “entertain” popular male celebrities.
These male celebrities would attend events like dinner parties set up by the network to gain access to the women. It was apparently an open secret that the women at these events were often pressured into sex by the guests.
In an interview with the tabloid Weekly Bunshun, a female Fuji TV reporter anonymously testified that her work opportunities had significantly diminished after she turned down a popular celebrity’s advances.
This story has further inspired other Japanese women to share their own horror stories of being sexually abused at their workplaces. The hashtag read, “The real reason I quit my job” (watashi ga taishoku shita hontou no riyuu) in Japanese.
A user on X (former Twitter) posted that her boss tried to trick her into sharing a bed with him on a business trip.
I went on a business trip with my boss and he only reserved one room. There were two futons. I cringed. After he muttered something about getting another drink somewhere, I told the staff this was a business trip and they quickly prepared a room for me. The staff member’s face was one of shock. Unbelievable.
— @enyokofv19./Twitter
Another woman came forward, sharing how her bosses would routinely be misogynistic toward other women.
My old bosses made me clean the dirty bathroom every day, and when I said we should take turns, they bullied me for pushing ‘women’s work’ on them and drove me to resign. When I was having trouble finding a new job, a male relative said, ‘If the interviewer’s a dude, you can use your body to get hired. Women have it easy.’
— @mGQ4U9JtfqLlE8O./Twitter
Some of the other stories included instances of a student being coerced into sleeping with her teacher and a woman getting molested by her drunk boss.
The hashtag has also reached international netizens, who were left disgusted by the stories shared by the women and called for better protection of their rights.
Sexual harassment is rampant in Japan. Sadly, nearly every female friend of mine has at least one story. https://t.co/TzvXEiuWMN
— Richard 🏳️🌈 (@gaijinthoughts) February 3, 2025
To read this in 2025 is actually horrifying and disturbing. I was also once told by someone that laundry is a woman’s job. Seriously in a modern society it’s unacceptable for these gender norms to still be so prevalent. https://t.co/DdCVmjXlwl
— Hana T (@theasianmustash) February 5, 2025
Now in Japan, the hashtag “This is the true reason why I quit my job.” is viral.
This is Japanese version of #MeToo .
Japanese women start to talk about their experiences.
We never have forgotten what happened. There was always anger and despair. And now, we speak out.
— lotus (@LotusI11) January 31, 2025
Source: Unseen Japan
